Elope A Dope
by BigFics2
Summary: Shinobu's parents are fed up with her ignoring them and they want her to move back with them, so they arrange to have her married on her 16th birthday to a man she hates and fears. For Shinobu there is only 1 way out. DISCONTINUED thanks to Funimation.
1. The Plan

Author Words: Well after waiting for just over a week I finally got a response from the fanfiction .net staff. They told me as long as I didn't post anymore lemons I could make a new account. So I'm back! As for my old stories never fear because I will be loading them all back. Just not all at once.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

Warning: Contains some adult situations and some choice words. Reader discretion is advised.

**Bold words: Mr. Maehara on the phone.**

Regular words: Mrs. Maehara on the phone

_Italic words: Mr. Hibachi on the phone, Butler on the phone, or phone recording_

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 1  
The Plan**

October 25th. It's a crisp cool early morning fall day in Hinata Town and everyone at Hinata Sou are going through their usual routines. Shinobu is in the kitchen fixing breakfast, Motoko is on the roof just finishing up her morning exercises and is starting to go downstairs, Su is in her lab preparing another crazy invention to bring to class today, both Sara and Kitsune are just now getting out of bed, and Naru and Keitaro are going over each other's work they had done last night.

All around Hinata Sou Halloween decorations are hanging up everywhere. Fake cob webs are on some of the walls, some toy bats are hanging from the ceilings, paper ghosts and skeletons are also hanging from the ceilings and walls, outside is a big Jack-o-lantern made from a big pumpkin Shinobu had bought from the grocery store that she, Sara, and Keitaro had carved. Su even installed a scream sensor under the welcome mat so when ever someone would come in through the front door a light scream can be heard through out the building.

It's about this time when the phone in the hallway starts to ring. Shinobu looks out of the kitchen doorway and sees Motoko coming down the stairs wiping the sweat off her neck with a small towel. "Um Motoko! Could you answer that please? My hands are full at the moment." calls out Shinobu. Motoko nods her head.

Motoko picks up the phone. "Hello. This is Hinata Sou, Motoko speaking. Can I help you?" asks Motoko politely. Motoko listens as the person on the other end says what they have to say. "Ok 1 sec." says Motoko. She turns to the kitchen.

"Hey Shinobu!" she calls out. Shinobu pops her head around the corner of the kitchen door. "It's for you." says Motoko. "Ok. Just give me a second." answers Shinobu. Motoko turns back to the phone. "She'll be here in just a second." says Motoko politely.

Shinobu walks through the kitchen door wiping off her hands on her apron. "Who is it?" she asks as she walks up to Motoko and takes the phone. "It's your mother." answers Motoko. Shinobu suddenly gets a ticked off look on her face. She immediately hangs up the phone and turns to walk away. Motoko looks a little puzzled and shocked.

Within a couple of seconds the phone rings again and Motoko answers again. "Hello?...Shinobu it's for-" before she can say anything else Shinobu spins around, yanks the phone out of Motoko's hand and slams it down on the hook making sure her mother would hear the loud slam.

Within a few more seconds the phone begins to ring again. Motoko reaches for it again. "LET IT RING!" orders Shinobu with an angered look that totally surprises Motoko. "But it's your mother." says Motoko. Motoko sees Shinobu's hand shake as she balls up her fist tightly.

"I have nothing to say to HER!" says Shinobu angrily as she stomps away. Motoko is left totally stunned and bewildered at Shinobu's sudden angry actions. But she decides to let it be. The phone rings for another 2 minutes before stopping.

Breakfast goes by smoothly and Shinobu is back to her happy yet still shy self as if nothing had happened. "So Shinobu. Who was on the phone earlier?" asks Keitaro. Shinobu gets a bit irritated at his question but quickly hides it. "Oh just some salesman who wanted to see if we were interested in buying some kind of new vinyl siding for the place." answers Shinobu with a fake smile. Motoko looks at Shinobu for a second before going back to sipping her tea.

Breakfast ends and everyone goes their separate ways for the day. Shinobu, Su, Sara, and Motoko all go on to school, while Kitsune, Naru and Keitaro stay. Naru and Keitaro go to his room to study while Kitsune goes on another drinking binge.

The rest of the day passes without incident, excluding Keitaro being blasted into orbit about 3 times. That is until just after dinner time when the phone starts ringing again. "I got it!" calls out Kitsune as she was starting to head up the stairs. She walks over and picks up the phone. "Hello." she answers with a slight seductive voice.

She listens carefully to what the person on the phone has to say. "Ok darlin. I'll get her." she says a bit more seductively. "Shinobu! Telephone!" she calls down the hallway to Shinobu's room. "Ok. I'll be right there." calls out Shinobu back.

Shinobu opens her door and begins to walk down the hallway to the phone. When she reaches the phone Kitsune hands it to her. Kitsune begins to walk away. Shinobu brings the phone up to her ear. "Hello?" she answers.

But after a couple of seconds Shinobu gets an extremely angered look on her face again and slams the phone down hard back on its hook. Kitsune turns back around after hearing the loud slam with a curious look on her face. The phone starts to ring again. Shinobu reaches down and turns it off and starts to walk back to her room with an angered look still on her face.

"Leave it off for the rest of the night." she says as she passes Kitsune sounding a bit like Motoko. "Uh…Ok." says Kitsune a bit startled at Shinobu's angered glare. "Who was it?" she asks. Shinobu gives Kitsune another quick glare. "Just some boy from my school who has been bothering me lately." Shinobu answers.

Shinobu walks on back to her room. When she closes the door she punches the wall hard. "1st my mom calls me today then my dad does just now. I wish they would leave me the hell alone!" she yells in her head as she lets a couple of tears run down her face.

As Kitsune is walking back up the stairs she looks up and sees Motoko leaning against the wall at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed. "We need to talk." says Motoko calmly. Kitsune nods her head and they both walk on to Motoko's room.

When they enter Motoko's room they both sit by her futon. "So Motoko what's this about?" asks Kitsune. "I'm sure you noticed Shinobu's angered look after that phone call right?" asks Motoko.

"Yeah. She said it was from a boy that has been bothering her lately at her school." says Kitsune. Motoko gives a slight sigh. "Tell me. When have you ever known a boy to actually call Shinobu?" asks Motoko. Kitsune's eyes widen….for once. "Your right. But if it wasn't a boy from school then who was it?" asks Kitsune.

"It was from a male right?" asks Motoko. "Yeah." answers Kitsune. "Then I'm guessing it was from her father." says Motoko. "What makes you say that?" asks Kitsune.

"Early this morning she received a call from her mother and she reacted the same way she did just now." explains Motoko. "You mean the one she told us was a call from a salesman?" asks Kitsune. Motoko nods her head. Kitsune thinks for a moment.

"But why would Shinobu lie to us and get mad at her parents for?" ponders Kitsune. "Well as you already know she and her parents aren't on very good terms right now. They went through a nasty divorce that left her right in the middle of an all out tug of war between them. And even before their divorce they had been fighting with each other for many years. Shinobu was always left depressed, sad, and lonely all the time because of it. But after she started staying with us for a while she began to slowly open her heart to us, you know become more open, happy, cheerful, and more independent. And although she is still somewhat timid, she is no longer that girl she use to be. Nor do I think she ever wants to be again." explains Motoko.

"And I think that every time her parents call it makes her feel like that little scared girl again and she is just sick and tired of it. I think the reason why she lied to us is because she doesn't want to show that side of her anymore." adds Motoko.

"That makes since." says Kitsune while nodding her head. "So do you think we need to do anything about it?" she asks. Motoko thinks for a moment. "No I don't think we need to interfere for now. Shinobu just needs some time to heal. It's going to take a while before she can ever trust her parents again. I'm sure she will eventually realize that she will need her parents again someday. All she needs is some time." says Motoko.

"You're probably right." says Kitsune standing up. She walks over to Motoko's door and opens it. "However. I think tomorrow I'll take her out shopping after school. You know, have some girl time. I think that would cheer her up a bit and help her forget what has happened today." says Kitsune with a smile.

Motoko smiles a bit. "I may not be a shopper like you or Naru but I think that taking Shinobu out to cheer her up a bit is a good idea. You're 1 in a million Kitsune. You can be nice to people sometimes without wanting something in return after all." says Motoko sarcastically. "HEY!" says Kitsune in protest. Both of them have a nice giggle before Kitsune goes back to her room.

(Meanwhile at Shinobu's Father's apartment)

_"We're sorry. But the number you have dialed is temporarily out of service right now. Please write down the number and try you call again. This is a recording……………We're sorry. But the number-" _CLANG! Shinobu's father slams the phone back down on its hook.

"Damn that girl! That's the 4th time she done that to me! Why the hell is she ignoring me all the time? Unless her mother got to her. That has to be it! I'm going to call her and give that bitch a piece of my mind!" he says angrily. He picks up the phone once again and dials the number for Shinobu's Grandmother's house.

(At Shinobu's grandmother's house)

RING! RING! The phone rings a few times before Mrs. Maehara answers the phone. "Hello. Mrs. Maehara speaking." she says. Her cheerful polite look on her face quickly changes to one of disgust. "Oh it's you. What do you want?" she says rudely.

(Author interruption: Format will now change to reflect the phone conversations ahead.)

"**Before you get all mad I haven't called you to argue about the divorce."**

"Ok then. Why did you call?"

"**It's about Shinobu."**

"Listen! We can talk about this after you tell her to stop ignoring me like you told her to!"

"**Stop ignoring you! She's the one who is ignoring me! I want you to stop making her ignore me!"**

"I haven't told her to stop ignoring you! You maybe a creep but you are still her father! I would never tell her to stop talking to you!"

"**You mean to tell me she has been ignoring you too?"**

"Yes! Every time I try to call her she slams the phone back down and hangs up. She did it to me just this morning!"

"**Then if you didn't tell her to start ignoring me then why is she ignoring both of us?"**

"Probably because she's too busy banging that wannabe Toudai student you left her with! I have dreaded leaving her there in the care of that strange man ever since the 1st day she moved there. It's an all girls dormitory run by a man! God only knows what he has made all those girls and Shinobu do!"

"**Calm down! I have kept in touch with that young man's aunt and she has said that he has done nothing of the sort. But I think it's those other girls' fault that she is ignoring us!**

"Care to explain that?"

"**One of the girls is a kendo freak, another one is a drunk and heavy gambler, another one doesn't know her head from her ass (Mutsumi), another one is crazier than a loon, and the other one is a hothead who can't seem to control her anger. God only knows what they have taught her. Bunch of hooligans have probably turned her against us."**

"That does make more since. I was worried about those girls more than about that boy anyway. Besides that brown haired hothead girl I hear has been keeping him under wraps. Shinobu only told us that she wanted to make some friends before she ever moved. We've given her almost 2 years. I think it's about time we got her out of there and back into the real world!"

"**Yes. I agree with you for once. She needs to come back with us. That trash bin of a dormitory is a very bad influence on her. From what the aunt tells me she does all the cooking a cleaning. At this rate she'll probably end up as a cheap hotel maid when she grows up. The only problem I see is her willingly agreeing to move away from them and back with us."**

"That is going to be a problem……. Hey I've got it!"

"**Ok spill it."**

"Remember what we talked about when she was 8? About that other restaurant owner and his son?"

"**Oh you mean Mr. Hibachi, the millionaire who owns 40 different restaurants across Japan? Yes I remember the conversation with him about arranging to have Shinobu marry his son. But didn't we turn down his offer?"**

"We did, but he did say he would always keep the offer open to us if we ever changed our minds. His son should be about 20 now and I hear he has grown quit handsome now. This I think will be the best thing to straiten Shinobu up out of her arrogance she has for us now. If he accepts the offer we'll have Shinobu married on her 16th birthday. And if Shinobu doesn't like it then tough. She needs to learn not to be so selfish and learn that the world doesn't revolve around her. How does that sound?"

"**Sounds fine by me. After all, his place is about half-way between our houses now so we could go see Shinobu anytime we wanted to. I still have his number so I'll call him right away."**

"Good. This time Shinobu will have to come back with us whether she likes it or not. Goodbye."

"**Goodbye."**

Both parents hang up their phones. But Mr. Maehara picks his back up after a few minutes of searching for the number and dials another number. He hears it ring a few times.

"_Hello. Hibachi residence. Can I help you?" (Butler)_

"**Yes. Is Mr. Hibachi in? I would like to speak with him please."**

"_I'm sorry Sir. But Mr. Hibachi is a little busy taking a soothing bath. Can I take a message?"_

"**Just go in and tell him that Mr. Maehara is on the phone and that I would like to take him up on his offer."**

"_One moment if you would."_

A few minutes go by.

"_Hello. This is Mr. Hibachi. It's nice to hear from you again Maehara old buddy!"_

"**Hey Hibachi."**

"_It's been a while! How have you been doing? How's business treating you?"_

"**I'm not fairing very well actually. I've gone through a nasty divorce, I had to close and sell off the restaurant, and my daughter Shinobu has moved to a crappy run down old all girls dormitory."**

"_Oh that's bad. So my butler tells me you are interested in my offer from a few years ago."_

"**Yeah both Mrs. Maehara and I are interested in it again."**

"_Can I ask why the sudden change of heart after all these years?"_

"**Well ever since Shinobu moved to that run down old dormitory she has become quite ill-mannered toward us. The place is run by a wannabe Toudai student who doesn't appear he'll ever get in, not to mention he's a guy! But not only that but the girls who live there aren't……well….the best role models for a girl of her nature. Ever since she started living there she has become belligerent, and has been ignoring all of our phone calls and letters. So Mrs. Maehara and I decided that arranging a marriage for her 16th birthday will shove her into real life again. You know to show her the error of her ways. We want her to come back to us now but she refuses. So by getting her married she would no choice but to come back to us. And well since you live between me and Mrs. Maehara now we could go visit her and call her at anytime. So what do you say?"**

"_I can see your problem clearly. You want to help your daughter out of that rackety old dorm before she starts spinning out of control by living with these people. Am I right?"_

"**Yes. So one friend to another will you help me?"**

"_Now hold on a second. What if Shinobu doesn't want to get married?"_

"**She'll have no say on the matter. We are her parents and we have the right under the law to arrange a marriage for her. There's nothing she can do. So will you help?"**

"_But of course I will! We've been friends since high school so I accept you daughter to marry my son. I hear that she has become quite the cutie herself."_

**"Indeed she has. We'll start making the arrangements right away. Is that ok?"**

"_Yes of course it is. And I'm sure that Shin will be pleased to see Shinobu again."_

"**Well I'll call Mrs. Maehara and tell her you accepted to have the arranged marriage. We plan on going over and tell Shinobu about this tomorrow after her school let's out. Thanks again and we'll be talking again soon. Goodbye."**

"_Goodbye."_

Both men hang up their phones. Mr. Maehara picks up his phone again and calls Mrs. Maehara with the "good news" about his call.

End of Chapter 1

To be continued in Chapter 2: The Announcement.

Author Note: Well I'm back. After having my account deleted because of that lemon I posted was a real drag and I have learned my lesson from it. I will be posting Chapter 3 of "The Hinata Maiden" soon, but after that I'm going to be putting that story and "Gundam Hina" on hold for a while to straiten a few things out 1st. After all, my college is going to be starting back up soon so I need to prepare for that. And also I'm going to be starting my very own Children's book soon so I'll be working on that soon also. BTW this story literally hit me from the blue. It happened during one of my brain storming times where I just let my mind wonder a bit. This is how I come up with a lot of my stories. I hope you will like it! This story idea sounded so good to me I just had to start it right away!

Story Note: Shinobu's Parents are going to be really mean in this story. Plus next chapter is going to contain some physical and emotional abuse so be prepared for that.


	2. The Announcement

To Zentrodie: If you think Shinobu's parents we're mean in the 1st chapter it only gets worse from there. Just read this chapter for instance.

(o)

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

WARNING: Contains scenes of physical and emotional abuse and some choice words. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 2**

**The Announcement**

It's about 3:30 p.m. the next day. Shinobu and Su are getting off the bus after coming back from school. Shinobu looks up and watches Su run up the long flight of steps acting like she's and airplane. She stands there momentarily before she gives a big stretch.

She interlocks her fingers above her head a stretches. She hears a few of her joints pop as she stretches out the tiredness of another long school day and the 20 minute bus ride back.

"Whew. What a long school day this was. That surprise math quiz was doozy, but I think I managed to pass it at least thanks to Sempai's tutoring. Well better go start on supper." she says to herself as she begins walking up the stairs.

When she reaches the top she begins walking to the entrance of Hinata Sou. But when she looks up she sees Kitsune standing in the doorway looking at her with her sly foxy grin. "Hi Kitsune. Is there something I can help you with?"

Kitsune grins at her some more. "Come on girl. Change out of that uniform. I'm taking you out on the town tonight!" she says. "Um but. What about dinner? And I have homework to do." says Shinobu.

"Oh don't worry about it. Keitaro is going to fix dinner and we'll get back for you to have enough time for you to do your homework. Tonight though you and I are going to have a girls' night out! Sponsored by out favorite manager, Keitaro!" says Kitsune happily as she waves a few dollar bills that were in Keitaro's wallet just a few minutes ago.

Shinobu smiles a bit. "You mean it?" she asks. Kitsune nods her head. "Ok! I'll be right back!" says Shinobu happily. She rushes to her room to change her cloths. Kitsune meanwhile giggles a bit. "I knew she would be happy. And I'm going to make sure she has a great time!" she says to herself.

A few minutes later Shinobu comes out of her room wearing her regular green and pink sweatshirt/miniskirt combo, the one with the pink exclamation point on the chest. "I'm ready Kitsune." she calls out as she walks up to the front door.

"Alright! Well let's go!" says Kitsune with a big smile. "Let's" says a voice from behind them. They both turn around and are shocked to see Motoko dressed in a regular shirt and blue jeans.

"You're coming too Motoko?" asks Shinobu with a lot of shock. "Yes. I figured why can't I have a nice time too every once in a while. Besides you 2 lovely maidens will need protection from perverted males while you're out right?" explains Motoko. All 3 girls laugh a bit before heading to the door.

With a big smile Shinobu reaches up and opens the door. But as soon as she does her face changes to one of shock when she suddenly sees 2 people standing in the doorway. Her face quickly changes again to irritation as she sees it's her mom and dad standing there.

"What do you 2 want?" she asks bluntly. Her father gets a slightly irritated look on his face after that rude greeting. "Shinobu, we need to talk." he says as he crosses his arms. "Humph. I have nothing to say to you 2. Besides my friends and I were about to have a girls' night out. Now if you'll excuse me." says Shinobu as she tries to walk past them.

"Hold it young lady!" says Mr. Maehara as he grabs a hold oh Shinobu's shoulder a bit hard. Shinobu looks a bit angered at him. "Shinobu this involves not just you but the entire Maehara family's future." says her father. "Sigh….Fine." says Shinobu reluctantly and a bit irritated.

A few minutes later everyone from Hinata Sou and Shinobu's parents have all gathered in the den for a meeting. Mrs. Maehara looks at everyone in the room. "Shinobu what we have to say doesn't involve these people." says Mr. Maehara. "Whatever you need to say you can say in front of my friends." answers Shinobu.

Both parents look at each other and then back to Shinobu. Mr. Maehara leans back in the couch and crosses his arms. "Shinobu. Your mother and I have made a decision for you about your future." he says. "My future?" says Shinobu curiously.

"Yes Shinobu. Your father and have decided it's time for you to return to us. We've have given you almost 2 years to make friends here just as you wanted and now it's time you came back to us." explains Mrs. Meahara.

"No! I will not come back. My home is here now. I will not leave." says Shinobu sternly. "I'm afraid you have no say in the matter this time Shinobu." says Mr. Maehara. "Huh?" says Shinobu confusingly.

"You see Shinobu, we have arranged to have you married on your 16th birthday to a neighbor's son of ours." answers Mrs. Meahara. Everyone in the room opens there eyes in shock. "Eh what?" says Shinobu out of shock.

"That's right Shinobu. We have found a husband for you. We have arranged to have you married on your 16th birthday in a few weeks." explains Mr. Maehara. Shinobu gets a bit angry. "You've got to be kidding me?" she yells with disbelief.

"No we are not! Listen Shinobu! Your father and I are fed up with you always ignoring us! This place has been a bad influence on you! You have become more defiant toward us and frankly we're sick of it. What has happened to my little innocent Shinobu?" says Mrs. Maehara.

"Oh believe me she still has that innocent personality, it's just that she has become more independent and reliable with herself now." answers Keitaro. "You mean more arrogant! Well that ends today! Shinobu you WILL come back with us and you WILL marry the man that have chosen for you!"

"NO! I'm not just going to marry some strange man just to satisfy your selfish wants! When I marry a man I want it to be when I'm a little older and for love! Not to satisfy 2 parents suffering from empty nest syndrome! So you can forget about it." fires back Shinobu.

"Grr! With that kind of attitude you'll never be able to find a man! So it's better that we arrange to have you marry one! Besides his not a strange man Shinobu! You already know him! He's a childhood friend of yours!" yells Mr. Maehara.

Shinobu opens her eyes in shock. She has had very few friends in her life, up until now, any only a couple of male friends, but she doesn't know who they are talking about. "Who then?" she asks a bit stunned.

"Do you remember a Mr. Hibachi and his son Shin?" asks Mr. Maehara. Shinobu opens her eyes wide and gasps in horror as her face turns a pale blue. Kitsune looks up and sees her pale expression. "Gee Shinobu you look as though you've seen a ghost. Are you ok?" she comments.

"She's just in shock that we chose the richest man in the area where we live to be her husband. After all he's an hire to a $125 million business." explains Mrs. Maehara. Everyone in the room gasps. Kitsune can't help but grin. She knows it's wrong to do so at a time like this, but when ever it involves a lot of money she can't help it.

Shinobu slowly shakes her head. "No. That's not it." she says softly. "Then what is it?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "There's no way in hell I'm going to marry that perverted bastard!" shouts Shinobu. Everyone's eyes open again.

"What the hell does that mean Shinobu?" asks Mr. Maehara. "Back when I was 8 and was 12 he use to stick his hands down my shirt and fondle my chest and nipples telling me how beautiful and big I was going to get and how I was going to be such a beautiful wife to him and only him! The way he said it sent shivers down my spine. After that I didn't want to have anything to do with him!" shouts Shinobu almost in tears as she remembers that painful part of her life.

"Heh. IF he did touch you then why didn't he touch you in your 'special area' also?" asks Mr. Maehara not believing a word she says with a smirk. "Because he told me he wanted that on our wedding night!" fires back Shinobu.

The Maeharas look at each other and only smirk. Then they both start laughing! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Nice try Shinobu! But we all know that Shin Hibachi is one of the most prestigious and nicest men you can ever meet. He would never do such a thing! You're only looking for excuses not to have us marry you to him." says Mrs. Maehara.

"No I am not making it up! He really did touch me! I don't want to go anywhere near him!" shouts Shinobu back. Both parents get an irritated look on their faces. "Listen Shinobu our decision is final! You will be married to Shin Hibachi, you will come back with us, and you will do it whether you like it or not!" yells Mr. Maehara.

"NO! I will not be apart this fiasco! I will not go along with this at all! How can you do this to me! I have my own life now! You can't do this to me! I want both of you to leave me alone!" shouts Shinobu back. Mrs. Maehara has heard enough. She stands up and begins walking to Shinobu with an angered glare.

"Why me? Why me? WHY ME? IS THAT ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS YOURSELF! WHAT ABOUT US SHINOBU? HUH? WHAT ABOUT US? YOU THINK THAT SINCE YOU'VE MADE A FEW FRIENDS THAT YOU CAN TAKE ON THIS WORLD ALL BY YOURSELF NOW! HAH! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! YOU ARE GOING TO BE MARRIED TO SHIN! YOU HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO SAY IN THE MATTER!" Shouts Mrs. Maehara as she closes in on Shinobu face.

"NO! I WILL NOT! NOR CAN YOU MAKE ME! I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE A PART OF THIS FAMILY ANYMORE! SO BACK OFF OUT OF MY LIFE!" shouts Shinobu back defiantly in her mother face. There is a momentary stand off. Mrs. Maehara gets a really pissed off look on her face and a low growl can be heard deep within her throat.

Then without warning SLAPOW! Mrs. Maehara backhands Shinobu right in the face as hard as she can. Shinobu does a 180 and lands on her stomach. Everyone's gasps and their eyes are wide open now and there is a dead silence for a moment. Then slowly Shinobu starts to sit up.

"You…You actually hit…me." says Shinobu totally stunned as her bottom lip begins bleeding as she holds her cheek. "Whether you like it or not Shinobu it's not your decision to make. We are your parents. And by LAW we have the right to arrange a marriage for you." says Mrs. Maehara. Shinobu slowly turns her head with an angered glare of her own.

"As far as I'm concerned… I have no parents." says Shinobu defiantly as she wipes off some blood. Mrs. Maehara gets another angered look and her fists begin shaking again. She then comes up and kicks Shinobu right the stomach hard with the tip of her shoe.

"ARGH!" Shinobu bowls over in pain covering her stomach. "Hey now that's enough!" shouts Keitaro as he begins to stand. Mrs. Maehara looks right at him. "**SIT DOWN!**" she shouts at him with a very angered look. Keitaro stumbles backwards back onto the couch after being yelled at like that.

Mrs. Maehara looks down at Shinobu gasping and coughing for air after having the wind kicked out of her. She reaches down and picks Shinobu up into the air by her collar and brings her closer to her face. "Now listen here you little BITCH. We have the legal right to throw you in jail for disobeying the law if you don't attend this arranged marriage. So unless you want to end up someone's bitch in prison you WILL attend this marriage! And you WILL be happy about it!" shouts Mrs. Maehara into Shinobu's face. She then literally tosses Shinobu onto the ground.

Shinobu's feet don't even hit the ground before her butt hits it 1st with a loud thump. Silence once again settles over the room, except for Shinobu's sniffling. Finally the tears come. She slowly stands back up nursing her now throbbing stomach.

A few tears roll down her face and splatter onto the floor. "How can you do this to me? I hate you!" she says with a quivering voice. She then slings her head up really quick causing a few tear droplets to fly out of her eyes. Her bottom lip trembles in a mixture of pain, anger, and sorrow. GASP "**I HATE THE BOTH OF YOU!**" she screams at the top of her lungs.

She then literally shoves her mother out of the way and runs out of the room. She turns the corner and runs down the hall and into her room where she slams her door shut extremely hard causing it to echo though out all of Hinata Sou. The next thing everyone can here is Shinobu sobbing heavily in her room.

Everyone in the den gives the Maehara's a disapproving look. "Humph!" says Mrs. Maehara and she turns her head with her chin up. "Don't give us that. You know that parents in Japan have a legal right arrange a marriage for their children. So there's nothing you can do about it. You all are invited to the wedding if you wish to attend. However don't be offended if you aren't the guests of honor." says Mrs. Maehara arrogantly.

"Don't even bother showing us the way out. We can let ourselves out thank you." says Mr. Maehara. Both the Maeharas bow and then leave to the sounds of Shinobu's sobbing. Everyone else meanwhile is trying to let everything they heard settle in, but just can't.

"Damn them…" is all Keitaro can say. "Motoko why didn't you help Shinobu?" asks Kitsune a bit bluntly. "I'm sorry Kitsune there was nothing I could do." she answers. "What do you mean there was nothing you could do? Doesn't your honor code including defending young maidens from harm?" yells Kitsune back.

Motoko slams her fist into the arm of the chair. "Damnit don't you think wanted to help! But I couldn't! As much as I hate to admit it Shinobu's parents are right! Parents have the right to discipline their children and to arrange marriages for them." fires back Motoko.

"They have the right to discipline them yes but not to BEAT them!" shouts Kitsune back. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! Shut up!" shouts Keitaro to both of them. "Right now arguing with each other is the last thing we need to be doing right now! Just down the hall is a girl who really needs her friends' comfort right now. I'm going." says Keitaro loudly.

Keitaro stands up and begins walking to Shinobu's room. Everyone else follows. When Keitaro reaches her door he knocks on it. He can still hear her sobbing loudly. "Shinobu may I come in?" Keitaro asks calmly. "Go away! Please. I don't want you to see me like this. sniff. sniff." answers Shinobu.

"Shinobu I'm coming in anyway." says Keitaro. He opens the door and sees Shinobu with her face buried in her pillow with her holding a tissue up to her now swelling lip with streams of tears coming out of her eyes. Keitaro stands there for a second not knowing exactly what he should do. He suddenly feels a light shove from behind and he turns around to see Naru doing the shoving.

He nods his head and walks in. He walks up to her bed and gently sits down beside Shinobu. He places he hand on her back and begins rubbing it which causes her to twinge a bit but then relax. Shinobu begins crying a little louder. She suddenly comes up and plunges her face into Keitaro chest and begins crying a bit louder. Her sobs are sounding so filled with pain that a few of the other tenets are beginning to shed a couple of tears.

Keitaro is caught a bit off guard by Shinobu and he looks up at Naru. Naru only smiles and nods her head. She knows at times like these Keitaro won't do anything perverted. He then wraps his arms around Shinobu and begins to comfort her.

"Why? Why are they doing this to me sempai? Why?" shouts Shinobu as she begins to sob even more. "It's ok Shinobu. We'll figure that out later. Right now just let out. Let it all out." answers Keitaro calmly as he begins to rub the back of Shinobu's head. Shinobu goes back to crying.

Naru turns and begins to push everybody away from the door and they all begin to go back to the den. "Naru is it ok to leave them alone together right now?" asks Kitsune calmly. "It's ok Kitsune. Right now all Shinobu needs is a shoulder to cry on. And I can't think of a better shoulder than his." answers Naru. Everyone else nods in agreement and they all head back to the den to discuss what they need to do.

End of Chapter 2

To be continued in Chapter 3: The Sorrow

Author Note: Whew I really made Shinobu's parents really mean in this one! I now Shinobu's parents would probably not do something like this but oh well. The next Chapter will deal with how Shinobu copes with knowing that her time as a carefree teenager is quickly coming to an end.

Story Note: It is legal in Japan to arrange a marriage for your children at any age under 16. Keep that in mind. Also this story is based off of the Anime series not the manga. It happens just before Love Hina Again.


	3. The Sorrow

Phsyco Midori: I'm glad you like my story but I would ask you to please not insult me at the same time. I would NEVER degrade my writing ability by making a lameass Naru-Keitaro fanfic. That would just suck.

(o)

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

Warning: Contains bad language and emotional and physical abuse. Reader desecration is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 3**

**The Sorrow**

It has been 3 days since Shinobu's parents have told her about the arranged marriage they have set up. And ever since then she has fallen into a deep depression. That same night she had cried for the rest of the day and late into the night. It wasn't until the early morning that she fell asleep out of exhaustion in Keitaro's arms.

It has been a rough 3 days for Shinobu. Because of her depression she hasn't eaten much at all. She's hasn't gotten much sleep, and she hasn't even bathed. In fact the only times she has come out of her room is to use the bathroom and go to school.

But even when she is at school she doesn't act much different. She has been spacing out in class, not eating at all, and won't even talk to Akiko even when she is speaking to her.

And when ever she would come home Shinobu would just go strait to her room and not say a word to anyone. Keitaro would end up having to make the meals for everyone. Everyone has tried talking with her but she just zones out, even when Keitaro tries talking with her.

The only thing she has done is either zone out while lying on her bed or just up and start crying again for hours. Keitaro has come in a few times when she starts crying to try and comfort her but all he ends up doing is hold a trembling, zoned out Shinobu. As Motoko has put it it's like she has been thrust back 3 years to when she was her old depressed and sad self, only 2 or 3 fold.

The only other emotion Shinobu has shown is hatred. Hatred towards her parents. Hatred towards Mr. Hibachi. Hatred towards Shin Hibachi, the boy who had molested her when they last saw each other. She knew that if she marries him she would no longer have a life of her own. As far as she is concerned her life is over.

And what is worse, her parents are completely blind to it. Blind that their only child is dieing on the inside and on the outside; her will, her personality, her dreams, her essence, her heart, all have been shattered.

Their ignorance has come before their daughter to the point that they don't believe a word she says. As far as they are concerned, she to them is nothing but a commodity to be bargained with. After these bouts of hatred the tears would come again and she would start the cycle all over again.

This morning is no different…. at least that's how it starts.

BBBBBUUUUUZZZZZZZZZ goes Shinobu's alarm clock. She slowly wakes up and reaches over and turns if off. She picks it up and looks at it and it says 7:00am. She puts it down and slowly gets out of bed.

She walks out of her room and into the bathroom where she washes off her face and puts on some deodorant. She walks back to her room and passes Su along the way. Su tries to say hello but she doesn't get an answer.

Even chaotic Su can understand what Shinobu is going through right now. She herself is arranged to be married herself, but she knows it's to someone who is kind and gentle. Not to a perverted bastard as Shinobu describes him.

Shinobu enters her room and slowly changes into her school uniform, not even bothering to change her underwear. She use to get excited about getting ready for school and looking forward to talking with Akiko again. Now it only reminds her that she is 1 day closer to a horrible life that lies ahead.

When she is done she looks at herself in her mirror. Before she use to see the face of a cute young girl who was well on her way to growing up. Now all she can see is a face of dread and despair. She looks and can still see the bruise on her right cheek and her split lip from where her mother backhanded her the other day.

Both wounds seem to be healing very slowly and still hurt. Fresh reinforcers of what lies ahead in the near future. One of her teachers had noticed it and had asked what had happened. She had stayed silent for a moment before she answered saying that she had gotten distracted while cooking and a pan had fallen on her. The teacher only laughed it off saying that he had a similar incident when trying to hang a small shelf on the wall for his wife. He quickly passed it off as a fluke accident.

Shinobu gathers her school stuff and heads on over to the living room to watch a little of the news to see what the temperature is going to be for the day. After about 10 minutes it's almost 7:30am., and she begins to walk to the front door.

From the dinning room Keitaro spots her and calls out to her. "Hey Shinobu!" Shinobu slowly turns her head and glances over to him. Even in her depression she still can't help but responded to that sweet voice of his, but even that has been reduced to just a glance.

"I've fixed breakfast. You should eat something before leaving. You haven't eaten much so you should at least have something." says Keitaro. Shinobu's heart nearly breaks again. His kind and caring attitude toward her never ceases.

That's what made her fall in love with him in the 1st place. The day that she was going to move no one had noticed it but him and he had gotten together with the other residents to throw her a farewell party.

Remembering all of this and his recent act of concern nearly sends her into another crying bout, but she manages to keep it in. She walks on over to the table and picks up a piece of buttered toast and takes a small bite out of it. She then turns and begins to walks away when she stops.

"….Thank you Sempai." she manages to say just barely over a whisper. She then walks out of Hinata Sou down the steps to the bus stop just down below, all the while eating the piece of toast.

Keitaro's heart also aches. He hates seeing her like this. Although he's not in love with her he can't help but feel her pain also. Shinobu somehow has a talent for making the other people around her feel the same way she does…most of the time.

He wants to help her so badly but not knowing what to do to help her is killing him. He knows everyone else feels the same way. "We've got to do something. Shinobu won't last like this. That's it! Later Today we're going to have a group meeting to see what we can do!" he says determined.

Meanwhile Shinobu glances over and sees the bus coming, and right at that moment Su arrives. Su always seems to have an uncanny knack of getting somewhere just at the last possible moment. Su doesn't say anything as they both board the bus. The 20 minute bus ride seems to get longer everyday for Shinobu. The only thing she does is stare blankly out the window.

25 minutes later Shinobu has arrived at school and is slowly walking down the hallway, still with her blank look, to her locker to get her books. As she walks to it she notices most of the other students look at her with varied looks.

In the 3 days since the announcement, the news of her arranged marriage has spread quickly in her school, as would most news like this, and so everyone can't help but stare at her as she walks by.

Some people look at her with grins on their faces. Most of them are girls who are a bit jealous of her because in a couple of weeks she's going to be rich. Still others look at her with evil smirks and piercing glares and still most of them are girls who are extremely envious of her. Some boys are also giving her the same looks. But still, there are others who give her looks of concern. They know that learning that you're going to be married to someone you barely even know can be very upsetting.

Every look that she gets makes her feel more and more depressed. After all being the 1st girl in her grade level to be married soon is very upsetting. Finally she reaches her locker.

She opens it up and sticks her head in for a momentary reprieve from all the stares. She grabs a few of her books and turns to walk to her class. She reaches around to close her locker when it suddenly gets slammed in her face.

She glances over and sees a slightly cubby girl with 2 (Akiko style) brown ponytails giving her an evil grin. "Well. Well. If it isn't Miss Maehara the lucky little bitch who gets to marry before any of us girls do." says a voice from behind Shinobu.

Shinobu turns around to see a tall blonde girl stand behind her. The blonde girl is Rei Shina from the senior class; the snobbiest and probably the most "developed" girl in school. And the brown head is Yotuba Muyo also from the senior class and Rei's "right hand" girl. Shinobu only lowers her head.

"Tell me. What gives you the right to marry before any of us womanly developed girls do?" says Rei sarcastically. Shinobu doesn't say a thing. She stands there for a moment in silence and then tries to calmly walk by. Yotuba grabs her by her shoulder and slams her into her locker. "Hold it bitch! You haven't answered my question yet!" orders Rei.

Shinobu only stays silent. "Answer me BITCH!" yells Rei. She then slaps Shinobu's books out of her hands. Her books, notebooks and a couple of pencils scatter across the floor. Everyone by now is looking right at them. Some with arrogant smirks and still others with just curiosity on their faces. Shinobu only stays silence but is now trembling in fear a little.

"Easy there Rei, she probably doesn't know the answer to a question like that. After all as poorly underdeveloped as she is she probably doesn't know how fully developed women, such as us, feel." says Yotuba.

"You're probably right Yotuba." Rei grabs Shinobu's right breast hard. Shinobu lets out a small squeak of pain as Rei squeezes her right breast painfully. "After all with these small things I don't think she would ever be able to attract a man. EVER! I think that her parents wised up to that fact. They were pretty lucky to find a nice rich young man to take her as his wife." says Rei harshly.

Rei then uses her other hand and grabs Shinobu by her chin lifts her face up. "I will tell you 1 thing. You do have a cute face, but I doubt any man would settle for that." she adds.

"But I still fell sorry for your fiancée. After all he's not getting much. Heh. She probably won't even be able to please him either! And then he'll cheat on her with another woman just so he can get something." says Rei evilly while smiling still squeezing Shinobu's breast hard.

Shinobu wants to cry so badly right now. But she knows if she does it would only add fuel to their harassment. Rei sees this. "What this? The little slut thinks she's too good to talk to us now." says Rei harshly.

"Is that right Miss Maehara? You're too good for us now?" says Yotuba sarcastically. Shinobu still stays silent. "So you think that since you're going to be rich you can ignore us?" asks Rei. Shinobu still says nothing. Rei is now getting more irritated. "ANSWER YOU BITCH!" SLAP! Rei yells and slaps Shinobu across the face.

Rei slaps Shinobu right across her face right over the bruise her mother left her with. A hot sharp pain from the slap mixes with the dull throbbing pain of the bruise as the slap aggravates the bruise. Shinobu's eyes are now beginning to whelp up with tears as the emotional pain and physical pain are about to make her break. But still she remains silent.

"Still no answer huh? Well maybe I should slap some more scene into you, you bitch!" yells Rei as she brings her hand up once again to slap Shinobu again. Suddenly someone grabs Rei's hand from behind. "Ok beat it you 2!" says a male voice.

They turn around and see one of the taller senior boys stopping Rei's hand. "Humph. Oh look it goodie goodie Yuske coming to help. Fine we'll leave for now." says Rei. She turns to face Shinobu. "You got off easy this time slut. But this isn't over." says Rei arrogantly. "That's enough!" shouts Yuske.

Rei and Yotuba turn and walk away not giving a care in the world at what they just did. The hallway stays silent for a moment before going back to its usual pre-morning day. Shinobu stays silent a bit longer before she squats down and begins to pick up her things.

Yuske also bends down and helps pick up. When they're done they both stand up. Yuske hands over the stuff he picked up to Shinobu. "You ok? I'm sorry I couldn't stop them before." says Yuske.

Shinobu only nods her head slightly and turns to walk away. "Thank you." is all she manages to mumble before she starts walking to her 1st class. Yuske stands there for a second a bit stunned at Shinobu's lack of gratitude. But he just shrugs it off. But in reality Shinobu is glad the he helped her out of that situation.

She reaches her 1st class and just sits there staring blankly into her desk for the entire class period. She does this for all her classes for the rest of the day. Amazingly her teachers have taken note of this but understand her position right now. They have decided to let her off for a few days to clear her mind before asking her to please continue her work.

When the school day ends Shinobu walks slowly to the bus stop and gets onto the bus along with Su when it arrives.

The ride back to Hinata Sou is also filled with pain. Unlike the early morning bus ride when there are a few students on the bus, the ride back is full. Other students look at her with the same looks as in the school and some even talk behind her back. Little do they realize that she can hear a few of them.

The ride back seems even longer than the morning ride but when she and Su finally arrive back at Hinata Sou Shinobu doesn't feel any relief. Instead she still feels the same sorrow. She slowly makes her way up the long flight of steps up to Hinata Sou.

Su has already run up them and is already inside when Shinobu reaches the top. When she goes inside she hears someone call to her. "Hey Shinobu! Could you come into the den please?" calls out Keitaro. Shinobu only ignores him, probably not meaning to, and just walks right to her room and she shuts the door behind her.

Keitaro only stands there a bit surprised at Shinobu's actions. "So what is it you needed to talk to us about Keitaro?" asks Kitsune from the couch. Keitaro only sighs loudly. "It's about Shinobu. We need to figure out a way to help her." he explains.

Meanwhile Shinobu walks over to her bed and just flops down onto her pillow. She can hear everyone else in the den talking to each other, but she can't tell what they're saying.

She thinks back to what happened earlier in the morning at what Rei and Yotuba said to her. And finally she lets the tears come again and she begins to cry silently once more so the others won't hear her.

She cries a sobs silently to herself for about an hour before she hears fast paced foot steps out side her door. Suddenly her door gets flung open. She looks over and sees Keitaro standing there with a look of urgency on his face. "Shinobu. We needs to tell you something in the den." says Keitaro urgently. Shinobu only turns her head away from him.

Keitaro runs up and grabs her hand and yanks her off her bed. Shinobu finally stands up and is lead back to the den. When she finally arrives everyone just looks at her as she still has her head down. The she hears Keitaro clear his throat a bit.

"Shinobu. We have been talking about your situation for the past hour trying to find a way for you to get out of this arranged marriage." says Keitaro. Shinobu only keeps her head down. She thinks that there is no possible way for her to get out and that's what they were going to tell her; that they tried their best but couldn't find a way.

"Shinobu we tried hard to find a way for you to get out. And….. I think I have found one." says Keitaro. Everyone else in the room looks a bit shock. Shinobu instantly shoots her head up in surprise. "But I have to tell you it is a bit radical but it's the only thing I could find." says Keitaro. Shinobu nods as if to say to continue.

Keitaro then gets down on 1 knee and he takes a deep breath. "Shinobu….Will you marry me?"

End of Chapter 3

To be Continued in Chapter 4: The Counter Plan

Author: Note: Started off a bit slow but as I pushed on the story just seemed to flow. You guys are anxious to see Shin right? Well he'll come a little later. I hope I didn't go overboard with the depressed feelings. But I really wanted to show how devastated Shinobu was. If it's a bit too much please tell me.

Story Hint: Rei, Yotuba, and Yuske are all made up characters I created.


	4. The Counter Plan

Author Apology: I want to apologize to all the Anonymous readers who wanted to review but couldn't. I had just created this account and had forgotten to turn of the Anonymous review filter. It was my fault. I have now turned it off so all you Anonymous readers, go ahead and review away!

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

Warning: Contains some bad language. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 4**

**The Counter Plan**

It's been 3 days since Shinobu's parents announced that they had arranged a marriage for her. And ever since then she has fallen into a very deep depression. And no matter how hard they tried the rest of the Hinata group can't snap her out of it.

Keitaro has probably taken this the hardest out of all of them. Every time he has looked at her she has been totally out of it. He has tried his best to comfort her, even going as far as to hold her during her crying bouts when she has them, but she barely even responds to anyone.

He remembers back to the day when Shinobu decided to stay at Hinata Sou. He was the only one who could see her inner strength desperately trying to break out of her extremely sky shell. And for the 2 years since then he has been helping her break down that shell. But now all of that work seems to have been for nothing.

A new harder shell has arisen from the old one. Not one of shyness and fear, but now one of depression and dread. This shell he knew was almost virtually impossible to break and there was little he could do about it even if he wanted to try. This has left him very frustrated and heartbroken.

He could tell that the joy of Hinata Sou seems to have been sucked right out of the building. Shinobu always had a way to cheer up the place. Her smile and innocent personality always seemed to make wrath and anger shake in their boots. But now with their new allies, dread and despair, they have captured the headquarters known as Hinata Sou.

Keitaro, like Shinobu, has gotten little sleep. The dark and gloomy feeling Hinata Sou was now giving off and the thought of him not being able to help Shinobu snap out of her depression is driving him insane. He wants more than anything to help her but he realizes he can do little anything to stop it. He himself has cried a couple of times.

He's in love with Naru, but he knows that Shinobu is also a girl very, VERY close to his heart; probably 3rd after his promised girl and Naru. When ever he felt down or depressed himself, it was always Shinobu who drug him up out of his misery. He so badly wants to help return the favor, but she is so far down that it would be hard to bring her up, plus he has little to work with.

He keeps kicking himself about what he did that day, or rather what he didn't do. He had tried to stand up against Shinobu's mother after she kicked her but being too trained by Naru he cowered back in fear at Mrs. Meahara's angered face and yelling.

He keeps saying to himself that he shouldn't have backed down. He should have thrown both parents out of the building and called the police and reported their assault on their own daughter. But he didn't, and it has left him feeling very guilty.

But being Keitaro he isn't going to let this get him down. True that there was little to work with. True that there was little he could do to stop it much like if he tried to stop a speeding train. True he would most likely fail. But as long as there is hope there is always a way and rest assured he is determined to find it. But there is little hope to be had if there was any.

Today he is going to try his best and find a way!

BBBBBUUUUUUUUZZZZZZZZZZZZZ Goes Keitaro's alarm clock. He slowly wakes up and reaches over and turns it off. He picks it up and looks at it and it reads 6:15 am. He sits up and stretches and gives a great big yawn. He usually wakes up about 45 minutes later but for the past 3 days he has had to do all the cooking because Shinobu refuses to.

All the joy in her is what had given her the will to cook. But now that that was gone, cooking and even eating food to her now only represented something that her parents had given her, and right now she didn't want to have anything to do with them. And as a result Keitaro has had to do all the cooking. He is a decent cook now but every one misses Shinobu's cooking already.

He quickly gets dressed and washes his face to waken himself up a bit. He quietly makes his way down to the kitchen to cook breakfast. He quickly fries up some bacon so the smell would slowly makes its way through Hinata Sou. As the smell begins to make its way through the building he starts cracking open some eggs and beats them.

With in about 30 minutes he has made 8 omelets. A banana omelet for Su, a curry powder omelet for Kitsune to help snap her out of her hang-over, a veggie omelet for Motoko because she likes to eat healthy, a cheese omelet for Sara, a sausage omelet for Naru, a cheese and bacon omelet for himself and Shinobu. He had always found it a bit odd that he and Shinobu liked a lot of the same foods. He also fixes a big bowl of rice and several slices of toast which he promptly butters.

After finishing he sets the bowl of rice down in the table, and it's about that time when everyone begins to come in and start eating, all except Sara, Kitsune and Shinobu. As he slowly eats his omelet he looks over at Shinobu's and knows that her breakfast is going to go cold once again.

"KEITARO!" shouts Naru. Keitaro snaps out of his stare looks up to see Naru's face less than a foot away from his. "N-N-N-Naru!" he shouts in surprise. "Will you please answer me when I talk to you!" she shouts at him.

"Sorry." he says as he lowers his head. "What was it you were saying?" he asks. "Sigh. Remember we have a big study session today so be prepared for it ok." says Naru. "Uh. Yeah ok." he answers still not paying much attention.

He, Su, Naru and Motoko finish their meals and just then Kitsune and Sara come in to eat their breakfasts. "I could smell that bacon all the way to my room! Needless to say it made me hungry in my sleep!" says Kitsune with a foxy smile. Naru, Su, and Motoko all head back up stairs while Keitaro cleans off the table of their dirty dishes.

As he's clearing off the table he hears Su say hello to Shinobu upstairs, but doesn't hear her respond. "I guess she's still feeling down." he says to himself. After a few minutes Kitsune and Sara finish their meals and they head on back upstairs leaving Keitaro to wash off all the dishes.

While he is washing the dishes he hears someone come down and turn on the T.V. "Hmm I guess Kitsune is watching an early morning horse race or something." he says to himself.

After about 10 minutes he gets through and is walking out of the kitchen when he hears the T.V. be turned off. He looks up and sees Shinobu heading to the front door. Not wanting her to leave so depressed again he calls out to her. "Hey Shinobu!"

He sees her turn her head to him. "I uh…I've fixed breakfast. You should eat something before leaving. You haven't eaten much so you should at least have something." says Keitaro. He looks at her and sees her face show signs of pain.

"Oh great now I've done it! Now she's going to just burst out crying again!" he shouts in his head. But to his surprise he sees her walk over to the table and pick up a slice of buttered toast and take a small bite out of it. He watches as see turns to walk away but he is again surprised to here her speak up. "Thank you Sempai." she just says over a whisper.

He watches as she walks out the door to head to the bus stop. Keitaro feels a hard pain in his chest. He grabs his shirt over his heart. That look Shinobu just gave him hurt him deeply; even worse than when he ever saw Naru or Motoko cry. It wasn't a look of failure or regret, but one of utter helplessness. Like that of a soldier knowing he is going to die in battle soon and he can't do anything to stop it.

Keitaro suddenly grits his teeth. "We've got to do something. Shinobu won't last like this. That's it! Later today we're going to have a group meeting to see what we can do!" he says determined. "But how?" he thinks to himself.

He puts his hand up to his chin to think. He looks over at the dinning room wall and sees a framed paper on the wall. He looks at it and recognizes it to be the list of rules that Naru and Kitsune had put up when he 1st arrived when they tried to make him work so hard that he would quit.

"Hmm I guess they forgot all about taking down those rules." he thinks to himself. Suddenly something pops in his head. "THAT'S IT!" he shouts to himself. He hears a noise come from the den and sees Su sliding down the stairway railing. Keitaro is surprised by how fast his brain is thinking right now because just then another idea pops into his head.

"Hey Su!" he shouts to her. Su lands on her feet and, in 2 more leaps, is right in front of Keitaro. "Yes Keitaro?" says Su with a slight grin. "Would it be ok if I can use your computer to do some research on the net?" he asks. "Sure! But may I ask what for?" asks Su back.

"I wanna find out if there is anything I can do to help Shinobu." he answers. Su get a big smile on her face. "Sure! Anything to help Shinomu!" answers Su while bouncing up and down.

"Thank you Su! But please don't tell Shinobu I'm doing this. I don't want to get her hopes up then let them down again in case I can't find anything. Ok." says Keitaro. "No Problem! My lips are sealed!" shouts Su again. She does a back flip and heads to the front door but then turns around.

"Hey Keitaro! You remember what my password is right?" asks Su. "….Bananas?" answers Keitaro with a sweet drop. "Yup! Ok I'm off!" says Su with another big grin. She then runs out the door and slides all the way down the steps.

Keitaro gets a small smile on his face as he rushes back to the kitchen and quickly finishes the dishes. He eats the last slice of toast and then finishes off the dishes and puts them away. As soon as he's done he runs all the way to Su's room, nearly plowing over Kitsune along the way.

Keitaro goes right over to Su's computer and turns off the sleep mode. Kitsune look in and figures that Keitaro just needs to look up something on the net for the study session with Naru.

After a few minutes he gets to the Japanese Judicial web site and begins searching the site for all laws pertaining to marriage. "Now let's see here…." he says as he opens the page with the marriage laws. But once it comes up his eyes grow wide in shock.

"What the! 100 pages of laws!" he shouts in shock. "This is going to take forever to read through!" he shouts again. But then he calms down a bit. "I guess I'll just have to ask the girls for some help. I'm sure they won't mind at all." he says calmly.

He then begins to print out all the pages. After he's done printing he goes on to Naru's room to study. Unfortunately he accidentally walks in on her while she was dressing and promptly gets blasted to Pluto.

The day slowly wears on and soon 3:00 p.m. arrives. Keitaro has called all the girls down for a group meeting. But before anyone can ask why Su come bursting through he door. She looks over and sees everyone in the den with Keitaro standing in front of them.

"Hey what's going on?" she asks. "We're having a group meeting and we were waiting on you two." answers Keitaro. "Oh! Ok!" shouts Su. She then leaps up and lands on Motoko's back.

A minute later they all hear the front door open. "Hey Shinobu! Could you come into the den please?" calls out Keitaro. But to his surprise he only watches as she just walks on by the den and goes strait to her room with a blank look in her face.

Keitaro stands there a bit stunned before he looks over at Su with a curious look on his face. "She had a bit of a rough day today." says Su with a surprisingly calm voice. "So what is it you needed to talk to us about Keitaro?" asks Kitsune from the couch. Keitaro only sighs loudly. "It's about Shinobu. We need to figure out a way to help her." he explains.

"Listen I hate it just as much than you do Keitaro, but I don't think there is much we can do." says Naru. "I know. But after thinking about it we have to do something; at least try." say Keitaro. "So what to you suggest?" asks Motoko.

Keitaro then walks into the dinning room and comes back holding a stack of papers. "What's that?" asks Motoko. Keitaro drops the stack of papers into the coffee table. "This, Motoko, is all the laws pertaining to marriage in Japan.

"What are they here for?" asks Naru. "Well I figured short of kidnapping Shinobu away from this place, the only legal way to help Shinobu would be to read all the marriage laws to see if we could find a loop-hole somewhere." answers Keitaro.

Naru leans back in the chair and crosses her arms with a troubled look on her face. "What is it Naru?" asks Keitaro. "I get what you are saying, but…. arranged marriages are perfectly legal here in Japan so the chances on finding any loop-hole are slim." says Naru.

"I know, but…. sigh…. at least this way we would have tried to help her somehow. Even if we don't find anything at least Shinobu will realize how hard we tried to help her as her friends and maybe at least it would cheer her up a little." answers Keitaro.

Everyone begins to nod their head except for Naru who is still a bit unsure but decides to help anyway. "Now I have these papers separated into 10 stacks so each one of you take a stack and begin reading. If you come up on anything that might help please bring it up." says Keitaro as he hands out the papers leaving 3 on the coffee table. "If any of you finish early please take one of the three still remaining." he adds.

The minutes slowly tick by until almost 45 minutes has passed. Naru and Su, being the fastest readers in the group, have already finished their stacks 1st and have already grabbed another stack. Keitaro follows suit and grabs the last stack after finishing his 1st.

They had found a couple of things but have ruled them out because Shinobu didn't fall under the circumstances for them. One was where if she were deemed retarded or emotionally handicapped she could legally get out of the arranged marriage, but since she was neither they moved on.

Another one they found was if she were a foreigner looking for political asylum she could get out of it, but since she was Japanese it wouldn't have applied, so still they move on.

Another 15 minutes slowly tick by and everyone but Keitaro has finished the entire stack of papers so they are waiting on Keitaro to finish up his set. Everyone looks at each other with downed looks because it looks as though there is nothing legally they can do.

Keitaro is about halfway through page 98 when receives a shock as he reads the 3rd paragraph. He shakes his head a bit and brings the paper up closer and reads it again. He then takes off his glasses and rubes his, puts his glasses back on and reads it again.

He then gives a big smile. "EURICA!" he shouts softly. Everyone shoots their head up. But before anyone can ask him what he said, he jumps up from the couch, throws the paper back on the table and begins running to his room. After quickly grabbing something he quickly runs to Shinobu's room.

Keitaro runs up to her door and flings it open. He sees her look right at him. He sees that her eyes are blood shot and can tell she has been crying some more but he ignores it this time. "Shinobu. We need to tell you something in the den." says Keitaro urgently.

He watches as she only turns her head away from him. He then runs up and grabs her hand and yanks her off her bed. Shinobu finally stands up and is lead back to the den. Keitaro has a bit of a serious look on his face as he pulls Shinobu into the den.

Keitaro then clears his throat as he faces Shinobu. "Shinobu. We have been talking about your situation for the past hour trying to find a way for you to get out of this arranged marriage." says Keitaro. Keitaro looks and sees Shinobu keep her head down, but he continues anyway.

"Shinobu we tried hard to find a way for you to get out. And….. I think I have found one." says Keitaro. Everyone else in the room looks a bit shocked. Shinobu instantly shoots her head up in surprise. "But I have to tell you it is a bit radical but it's the only thing I could find." says Keitaro. He looks on at Shinobu shocked look and then she slowly nods her head as to say to continue.

Keitaro then gets down on one knee and takes a deep breath. "Shinobu….Will you marry me?"

The whole room goes silent. Keitaro stares right into Shinobu's shocked eyes. until after a few moments she speaks. "W-W-W-W-What?" she says in utter disbelief. "Will you marry me?" repeats Keitaro.

Shinobu just stands there totally dumbfounded at what Keitaro has just asked her. Suddenly 2 large shadows appear behind Keitaro and he feels a cold shiver go up his spine. He turns around and sees a red eyed Naru about twice the size of him cracking her knuckles and a "God's Cry" faced Motoko. (You know 2 white eyes and a big white evil smile)

"Keitaro…You….PERVERT!" they both shout at the same time. Motoko hits him with a huge ki attack just at the same time Naru smashes a punch right into his face. "HHHHIIIIEEEEEEEE!" Keitaro shrills are he goes skidding along the floor and goes face 1st through the hallway wall and promptly gets his head stuck in the dry wall.

"Ah Sempai!" shouts Shinobu and she runs over to him and begins pulling on him. It takes them both 5 minutes before they finally pull his head free from the dry wall. But as soon as he shakes all the drywall debris out of his hair he sees Naru right up in his face looking mad as hell!

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING YOU PERVERT? SHINOBU ALREADY HAS ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH, WITH HER ARRANGED MARRIGE AND HERE YOU ARE ASKING HER TO MERRY YOU RIGHT OUT OF THE BLUE, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!" shouts Naru louder than a jet engine.

After putting his finger in his ear and rubbing it inside Keitaro calmly walks over to the coffee table and picks up the set of papers he was reading and hands it over to Naru. "Page 98, 3rd paragraph." he answers.

Naru quickly flips through the pages and gets to page 98 and skims down to the 3rd paragraph. She begins reading. She then does a double take and he eyes open wide in shock. She shakes her head and reads it again. Her face then turns pale and she nearly drops the paper.

"What is it Naru?" asks Motoko. Naru slowly hands her the paper and Motoko begins to read the same part. She has a similar reaction as Naru. "Let me see! Let me see!" shouts Su.

Su and Sara both read it at the same time and are also a bit shocked at what they read. Finally Kitsune gets to the read the part. But instead of getting a shocked look on her face she instead starts giggling until she just busts out laughing. "What is it?" asks Shinobu.

Kitsune hands over the papers with a big smile on her face. Shinobu begins reading it and then suddenly gasps in shock at what she just read. There it is right in front of her eyes, the way to get out of her arranged marriage.

"S-S-Sempai y-y-you can't be serious about this are you?" she says in disbelief. "I am Shinobu." he says calmly. "But. But I just can't let you get involved in my family's problems like this!" says Shinobu.

"Shinobu, we are all family here. And when one of us is in trouble we all pitch in to help. This is the only thing we could find to help. So I ask you again. Will you marry me?" asks Keitaro. "Well I uh… this is so sudden…um…" stutters Shinobu. But then she notices Naru flop back into her chair and her eyes begin to whelp up with tears.

Keitaro turns around and sees Naru also and quickly walks over to her. "Naru please don't cry. I'm only doing this to help her. I just can't stand by and watch her parents literally flush her life down the toilet." explains Keitaro. "I know, but…. you're asking her to MARRY you!" says Naru beginning to sniff.

"Naru please don't worry. Besides it's only going to be temporary." says Keitaro. "Temporary?" asks Naru. "Yes. I'm only going to marry her until her parents agree to call off the arranged marriage. After that we will get a divorce." explains Keitaro.

Shinobu lowers her head a bit as she feels a sharp pain go through her heart. The word "divorce" rings through her mind reminding her about what her parents put her through. She also knows that Keitaro is in love with Naru. But still her marrying him and then having to divorce him, hurts her deeply. But what choice does she have. Either marry Keitaro and then divorce him or marry a man she knows will treat her like garbage for the rest of her life. But still the thought of actually being married to Keitaro warms her heart at the same time.

Naru lowers her head to think for a minute. After a minute or two she raises her head back up with a smile. "Ok. If it's to help Shinobu then I'm in! You can count on me!" she says with a lot of vigor while balling her hand in a fist. Everyone else agrees to help also.

"Well I guess that just leaves 1 more thing to do." says Keitaro. He walks on over and kneels again in front of Shinobu again. And to the surprise of everyone he pulls out a diamond engagement ring from his back pocket.

"Shinobu I had been saving this ring for Naru, but since I can't afford another engagement ring and since it wouldn't be proper to propose to you without a ring I guess I have to give it to you 1st. So I ask you 1 more time. Will you marry me?" says Keitaro.

Naru's mouth drops strait to the floor. "He had been saving a ring for me?" she shouts in her head.

Shinobu just stands there quite for a moment, still in a bit of shock but quickly comes out of it. "Yes. Yes Sempai I will." she says calmly. She extends her left hand and Keitaro begins to slide the ring on her ring finger.

"WWWAAAIIIITTT!" shouts Kitsune nearly knocking everyone over with her shout. "Kitsune what the hell!" shouts Naru. "Keitaro you can't put the ring on her left hand!" shouts Kitsune a bit softer this time.

"And why not?" asks Keitaro. "If you put it on her left hand now her parents will suspect something!" explains Kitsune. "ACK! You're right! What'll I do!" panics Keitaro a bit. "Calm down idiot! Just put it on her right hand for now." says Naru.

"Ah. Good idea." says Keitaro calming down. He once again gets down on one knee and looks back up into Shinobu's eyes. "Shinobu." he says calmly. Shinobu extends her right hand this time. Keitaro takes her right hand and slides the ring onto her ring finger. Everyone in the room, even Naru this time, claps and cheers with big smiles on their faces.

And for the 1st time in over 3 days, Shinobu smiles.

End of Chapter 4

To be continued in Chapter 5: The Preparations

Author Note: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up. I have just started a new college semester and needed to iron out some scheduling wrinkles so I could find time to write. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, will most likely be when I will have time to do my fanfics, that is if I don't have get any super long assignments :-P. So if you don't see any of my stories being updated for a while you'll know why! So don't think I will just give up on them because I'm not!

Story Note: What was it that Keitaro found in the laws? He. He. He. I'm not telling you just yet. Keep reading to find out! Guess what people! Shin makes his premier in my story in the next chapter!


	5. The Preparations

Sorry about reposting the chapter. The format messed-up when I posted it for some reason. I went back and fixed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

WARNING: Contains scenes of sexual harassment and some bad language. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE **

**Chapter 5 **

**The Preparations**

November 12th just before breakfast. The weather outside is beautiful. The sun is just over the horizon and there is a slight breeze blowing. It's been 3 weeks since Keitaro proposed to Shinobu, and ever since then the weather seems to have been brighter and more pleasant and "happy". The Cherry trees outside of Hinata Sou have nice shades of reds, browns, yellows, and oranges and have many bare spots in their branches

Of course the weather isn't the only one that has been better lately. Ever since that day Hinata Sou's soul also seems to have risen from its previous despair. Of course all the residents know the reason why. It's because of Shinobu.

Ever since that day Shinobu's confidence and cheerfulness has comeback and she has been much happier then she had been. In fact much happier than the other residents have ever seen her. In the next couple of days she will be calling herself Mrs. Urashima, even though it will be temporary. They all know nothing could make her happier.

But deep down they all know that once her parents and the Hibachi's find out, there will be hell to pay. But for now they all let Shinobu have her happiness.

She's even been doing better at school. She has been doing her work again and Yuske and the teachers have kept Rei and Yotuba mostly at bay. She still gets the stares but now she just ignores them.

Speaking of Shinobu she is back in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Her cheerfulness has returned and so has her love of cooking for her friends. This particular morning she is fixing pancakes. She is taking great care with the 3 pancakes she's about to fix because they are going to be Keitaro's.

She puts a dash of cinnamon into the batter as she pours it into the pan. As she does so she begins to have a flash back to that day shortly after Keitaro's proposal…..

(o)

"So what now?" asks Sara. Keitaro and Shinobu both look at Sara after Keitaro stands back up. "What do you mean 'what now'?" asks Shinobu. "Well you two obviously can't have a wedding reception because Shinobu's parents or the Hibachis will surely find out about it." explains Sara.

Shinobu and Keitaro look at each other with confusion and shock. "Oh now don't tell me you didn't think this trough Keitaro!" yells Naru. "Uh well…." **WAP!** Keitaro gets slapped across the back of his head.

"You idiot! Here you are trying to save a girl from certain misery and you don't think this plan through!" she yells again. "Uh….well sorry. I guess I acted a bit more on impulse than thinking." answers Keitaro while scratching the back of his head. "YOU THINK!" yells Naru again.

"Sara is right. What are you guys going to do? You guys can't have a real wedding reception and there aren't any 'drive-in' wedding chapels here in Hinata Town." says Kitsune. They all put their hands up to their chins to think.

"Why not elope?" says someone. They all turn around and see Motoko calmly sipping some green tea and sitting in a chair. Motoko opens one eye and sees everyone's puzzled looks. "What?" she asks.

Suddenly she realizes that she was the one who mentioned eloping. She blushes deeply. "Oh come on it's so obvious that even I can see it! You can't get married here so the only other option is go run off somewhere and get married! I thought you guys would have figured that out by now!" she shouts while still blushing.

Everyone else looks at each other and they start to giggle and then burst out laughing. "Hey what's so funny?" shouts Motoko. "Oh calm down Motoko! We're not laughing at you; we're laughing at ourselves because you of all people figured out what to do before us!" says Shinobu as she goes back to laughing. Motoko just blushes further causing everyone else to laugh even harder.

"Ok guys enough laughing. We need to plan this thing out so Shinobu's parents or the Hibachis won't find out." says Keitaro. "RIGHT!" says everyone else.

(o)

"Shinobu!" calls out a voice from behind her as they lay their hand on her shoulder. "EEAHH!" she yelps as she is suddenly snapped out of her flashback nearly dropping the spatula in her hand.

She spins around. "Oh Sempai! You scared me!" she complains a little. "Um Shinobu….the pancake is burning." says Keitaro calmly as he points back to the pan. Shinobu spins back around quickly.

"Ahhh! Oh no!" she shouts. She flips it out of the pan onto a plate to see if she can salvage any of it. Luckily it was only slightly burned and is still eatable. "I'm sorry Sempai! I was lost in my own thoughts and I messed-up your breakfast!" she shouts as she begins to tear up a bit.

Keitaro only smiles. "Ha. Ha. That's ok Shinobu. You're such a good cook that even your burnt cooking tastes good." he says gracefully. Shinobu blushes deeply at his comment. "Th-Th-Th-Thank you Sempai." she says embarrassingly.

Suddenly the phone in the hallway begins to ring and Naru answers it. "Hello?" she answers. Her face then turns a bit pale as she recognizes the voice on the other side. She then gets a slightly angered look on her face as she hears what the person has to say.

"Ok hang on a second." she says into the phone. She places her hand over the receiver part of the phone. She is a little hesitant to call out the name that the person wants to talk to. "Shinobu!" she finally calls out.

Shinobu looks out from the kitchen doorway. "It's your mother." says Naru. Shinobu gets a mixed look of fear and anger on her face. She turns around to Keitaro. He has a slightly troubled look on his face too but nods his head.

"It's ok. I'll finish the pancakes." he says calmly. Shinobu then slowly makes her way over to the phone. Naru hands it to her. For a second Shinobu contemplates slamming the phone down again, but not wanting a repeat of a few weeks ago she brings it up to her ear.

"What?" she says bluntly into the phone. "Don't you take that tone with me young lady! Now listen! It's 3 days until your arranged marriage and we have realized that you haven't once come with us to visit the Hibachis. So tomorrow you are going to come with us to visit them and look and see how the wedding preparations are coming along." says Mrs. Meahara.

Shinobu's face turns pale and she nearly drops the phone. A moment goes by in silence. "Shinobu? Are you there?…..YOU BETTER NOT BE IGNORING ME!" shouts Mrs. Meahara over the phone.

"No! I don't want to visit HIM!" shouts Shinobu after snapping out of her shock. "Now don't you start with me! You ARE going to come with us or else we are going to come over there and DRAG you with us!" orders Mrs. Meahara.

Shinobu balls her hand into a fist and it begins to shake in anger. "……Fine…." answers Shinobu as she grits her teeth trying not to lose her temper. "Good then. We'll come to pick you up tomorrow at around 4:00 p.m. after you get out of school. Oh and Shinobu be sure to wear something pretty. We want you to look nice for Shin. That green skirt and yellow shirt will do nicely." says Mrs. Meahara.

Shinobu's face turns from red to pale again. The last thing she wants to do is wear a skirt near HIM. "Oh and one more thing Shinobu. You will act politely around the Hibachis or else we may have to take….. drastic action against you. You got that?" asks Mrs. Meahara.

"….yes." says Shinobu just above a whisper while holding back a few tears. "Good. See you tomorrow." With that Mrs. Meahara hangs up the phone. Shinobu slowly hangs up the phone. Then tears begin to stream down her face.

Naru, who had been watching the whole thing, comes over and holds Shinobu as she begins to cry. Shinobu plunges her face into Naru's shirt. "I heard everything. They want you to visit him?" asks Naru calmly. She feels Shinobu nod her head against her chest.

"Don't worry. I'll come with you tomorrow." says Naru. Shinobu shoots her head up. "But!" "Hey. Who's a better pervert punisher than me huh?" says Naru with a wink as she points her thumb at herself interrupting Shinobu.

"No! You can't beat him up! Unlike the people here my parents and the Hibachis would most defiantly have you arrested and thrown in jail if you do!…….but…..it would be nice to have a friend with me when I do go to give me some encouragement." says Shinobu.

"Alright then." answers Naru. Shinobu hugs Naru and then begins to head back to the kitchen but then she turns back around. "Naru." she says. Naru turns back around. "…..Thank you." says Shinobu with a smile. Naru smiles back. "No problem." she answers back.

With that Shinobu heads back to the kitchen to finish the pancakes.

(o)

November 13th. It's a very cool, gray, overcast day. The wind is blowing a bit more today than it has been. It's about 3:55 p.m. and Naru and Shinobu are waiting at the bottom of the steeps for Shinobu's parents. And already Shinobu is regretting even more about wearing her green skirt because she's freezing in it, although she is wearing a jacket.

Naru looks over at Shinobu and can see her shivering a bit. "You prepared for this Shinobu?" she asks. "No. Not really. But with you with me I'm sure I can…..It's just I'm so damn cold in this skirt!" complains Shinobu.

They both giggle a bit before Shinobu's parents drive up. Both Shinobu and Naru get into the car. Shinobu's parents look back and see Naru also in the car. "What is she doing here?" asks Mr. Meahara meanly.

"She's coming along with us." answers Shinobu. "ABSOLUTLY NOT! This is a private Meahara family matter! She can not come along!" says Mr. Meahara forcefully. "And why not? She's my friend and I want her to come along!" shouts Shinobu back.

Both Naru and Shinobu can see Mr. Meahara's face turn a beat red in anger. "FINE! But if she causes one bit of trouble she's gone! GOT IT!" orders Mr. Meahara. "Yes." answers Shinobu.

"As for you Miss Narusagawa. This is a personal family matter. We would prefer it if you and you friends would stay out of our business! Understood!" says Mr. Meahara angrily. "Yes sir." answers Naru.

During the trip to the Hibachi residence Shinobu can't help but tremble some in fear as she looks out the window. Naru looks over and can plainly see the fear on her face. She reaches over and places her hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?" asks Naru. Shinobu only shakes her head no and just keeps staring out the window watching the people and buildings go by.

15 minutes pass before they finally pull into a long driveway. After another minute or so they finally reach the front of the Hibachi residence. As they get out of the car Naru gasps at the size of the house. Although smaller than the average American mansion, it's about 3 times the normal size of the average Japanese house.

"Wow." is all Naru can say. Shinobu however doesn't even look up. She knows what it looks like already. It hasn't changed much in the last 8 years. All around the house giant Cherry trees, at least 100 years old or more, tower over them all in their fall colors. Suddenly the front door opens.

"Hey Meahara! Nice of you to come by." says a brown headed man. Shinobu looks up for a second and can see it's Mr. Hibachi. He hasn't changed much either except for some gray hair here and there and he seems to have put on a few pounds.

"Hey Hibachi." answers Mr. Meahara. They come up and bow to each other. "Ah Mrs. Meahara, looking as beautiful as ever." says Mr. Hibachi. Mrs. Meahara blushes a little as she bows to him.

He then turns to Shinobu. "Well if it isn't little Shinobu. My how you have grown! But you're still as cute as ever." says Mr. Hibachi. Shinobu doesn't even look at him. Instead she bows. "Nice to see you again." she says softly.

"Heh. Still as shy as ever I see. Indeed you will make such a beautiful bride for my son." says Mr. Hibachi. He then turns to Naru. "And who might this be?" he asks. "Oh hello sir. I'm Naru Narusagawa. I'm a friend of Shinobu's." says Naru as she bows. Mr. Hibachi greets her and they all head inside.

Once inside they go into den and take their seats. Shinobu and Naru sit next together on the couch while Mr. and Mrs. Meahara sit on the 'love seat' (2 person couch), and Mr. Hibachi sits in his chair. A few minutes later the butler brings in a tray of tea and sets it down on the coffee table.

A few minutes of talking go by when Mr. Hibachi speaks up. "So Shinobu. You must be anxious to marry Shin." he says upbeat. Shinobu at 1st doesn't answer. But then she glances over to her parents and can see they are giving her mean looks as if to say, "You had better answer, and answer politely!"

"Well…um….I wouldn't say anxious exactly….. I'm more…nervous than anything." she reluctantly answers. "Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah I know what you mean! I was nervous also before I married Shin's mother." says Mr. Hibachi as he gestures over to a wedding photo on the wall.

Naru looks over at it and sees something strange. "…She's white….Oops!" she covers her mouth quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't mean any disrespect!" she says to Mr. Hibachi.

"That's ok. I'm used to people having that kind of reaction. You see Shin's mother was from Australia but she lived here in Japan ever since she was a small girl…..But sadly….she died while giving birth to Shin." says Mr. Hibachi. "I'm sorry to hear that." says Naru.

Mr. Hibachi looks a little sad but then quickly perks back up. "So Shinobu. Would you like to see your wedding dress?" he asks happily. Shinobu shoots her head up in surprise. "My-My dress?" she asks confusingly.

"Why yes. Your parents and I picked it out. Would you like to see it?" asks Mr. Hibachi. "Well…um… I guess so." answers Shinobu still a bit unsure. "Kinichi!" calls out Mr. Hibachi. A moment later the butler returns. "You called sir?" he says.

"Yes. Please bring Miss Shinobu's wedding dress here please." orders Mr. Hibachi. "Yes Sir." he answers. The butler leaves the room and in a few minutes he comes back wheeling in a large rectangular box. He then opens the side of the box and lifts out a manikin wearing a large beautiful wedding dress.

Both Naru and Shinobu gasp at the sight. They both can tell it isn't a bargain wedding dress, but rather a very expensive one. "Go ahead Shinobu. You can look at it." says Mr. Hibachi. Shinobu stands up and walks over to it and begins looking it over.

She is still amazed at how beautiful it is. "Is that silk?" asks Naru also still amazed by it. "Yup. Just about the whole dress is silk. That Shinobu is a top of the line $2000 dress!" says Mr. Hibachi. Shinobu and Naru's mouths nearly drop to the floor.

"Shinobu dear how about trying on the veil? I'm anxious to see you in it." says Mrs. Meahara. "Yes Shinobu we would all like to see you in it." adds Mr. Meahara. Shinobu stands there a bit reluctant about putting anything on but decides it wouldn't hurt to do so.

She takes the veil and places it on her head. "Oh my Shinobu you look beautiful!" says Mrs. Meahara with a smile. "Yes you really do. Why not see for yourself in that mirror over there." adds Mr. Meahara.

Shinobu turns around and walks over to a wall mirror near the door. She looks at herself in the mirror. She blushes a bit as she sees her reflection. As she looks at herself tears begin to whelp up in her eyes and then a few of them roll down her cheek.

"Miss Shinobu are you ok?" asks Mr. Hibachi. Shinobu doesn't answer. "It's ok. She's just so happy that she is going to marry Shin in such a beautiful dress." says Mrs. Meahara.

"You couldn't be further from the truth mother. I'm crying because Keitaro will never see me like this…." she says to herself. Suddenly an idea pops into her head. She quickly wipes off her eyes and turns around to face Mr. Hibachi.

"Mr. Hibachi…. would it be ok if I could take the veil home with me?" she asks kindly. "But of course! Show all your friends a small preview of what's to come! Just make sure to bring it back on the wedding day ok." says Mr. Hibachi.

Shinobu gives a fake "genuine" smile and walks back over to the couch and gently puts the veil into her purse and she sits back down. "Well now that, that has been taken care of, I think it's about time you got reacquainted with Shin again." says Mr. Hibachi.

Shinobu can feel her skin go ice cold when he says that. This is the moment she has been hoping wouldn't come. Mr. Hibachi gets up and walks over to the stairs that are near the door. "Shin! The Meahara's are here! Please come down and say hello!" he calls.

There isn't a response but they do hear a door open and then close from upstairs. And then they hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Shinobu doesn't try to show it but she is very scared at the moment. She quickly reaches over and grabs Naru's hand and holds it tight.

Finally Shin appears at the bottom of the stairs and comes around the corner. A tall blonde haired young man walks into the den. Both Shinobu and Naru see him, but Shinobu hardly reacts.

Naru however can't help but blush just a bit. "This guy is HOT!" she says to herself. She can't help but stare at Shin's neatly parted to one side blonde hair, his boyish yet somehow mature looking greenish blue eyes, and his manly physic. In other words he's your typical rich blonde pretty boy. He is wearing a plain white T-shirt with a very dark blue vest over it and blue jeans.

However Naru notices him starring at Shinobu and not even noticing her or the Meaharas with a small smirk on his face. "Shin. This is Shinobu!" says Mr. Hibachi. Shin gives another small smirk before walking over to Shinobu who is trembling a bit. He takes a hold of her hand.

"It's so good to see you again my little Shinobu. I've missed you so." he then bows and kisses her hand. Shinobu can feel how cold his ice-cold hand and kiss are; a perfect reflection of his true nature.

"I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on. Shin why don't you take Shinobu into the gardens and show her where the wedding is going to be ok?" says Mr. Hibachi. "Why certainly father." says Shin trying to sound polite.

Shin pulls Shinobu off the couch and proceeds to head to the back door. But then Naru stands up to go with them. "Miss Narusagawa we would prefer it if you would let them be alone now. They do have a lot to talk about." says Mrs. Meahara.

"But." "Miss Narusagawa we would ask you to PLEASE respect their privacy. This is after all a family matter and not yours." says Mr. Meahara interrupting Naru. Naru looks back at Shinobu and can plainly see a look of fright on her face.

But then Shinobu waves her off. "It's ok Naru. I'll be ok. You just stay here and have a nice talk ok." says Shinobu in a wavering voice and an obvious fake smile. Naru reluctantly sits back down. Shin then pulls Shinobu to the back door and they both head out to the gardens.

Naru knows that Shinobu was lying about her being ok. She knows that she is scared out of her mind right now about being alone with Shin. But she didn't want bring Naru along because she may have done something that would have sent her to jail. Naru just looks back and can't help but worry about Shinobu.

Meanwhile Shin has taken Shinobu into his backyard's gardens. There are hedge bushes about the size of Shinobu on both sides of the little cement path that they are walking on. Behind them are very tall trees of all different varieties surrounding the both of them.

Shinobu tries to free her hand from Shin's, but his grip is too strong. Shinobu and Shin keep walking down the path. Shinobu hasn't said a word to him and just keeps looking away from him. However Shin hasn't taken his eyes of Shinobu and she can feel his cold stare.

Finally they turn a corner and there right in front of them in a small courtyard are the wedding decorations and other various wedding stuff along side the small fountain in the middle. "Beautiful isn't it Shinobu. BTW turn around." says Shin.

Shinobu turns around and then her face turns pale at what she sees. There in front of her is a small carved from stone bench. Shin the grabs her hand and sets her down on it. Shinobu shivers a bit as she feels the cold stone through her skirt, but she also shivers because Shin sat her down a bit hard. He then sits beside of her.

She looks over at him and he is looking at her with an evil looking smile. He then begins to lean over to her. Shinobu quickly turns her head away from him thinking he's wanting a kiss. But instead he comes right up to her ear.

Shinobu is now trembling in fear at his closeness. "Heh. Heh. Heh. You don't now how much I have missed you. Seeing your cute face, your beautiful dark blue hair and eyes, and your slender sexy soft body. I am….very happy so see you again." says Shin slyly. Shinobu gulps a little as she feels his icy cold breath go past her ear and down her neck.

"I'm sure you remember our little spot here don't you Shinobu?" he whispers into her ear slyly again. Shinobu still feels the chill of his cold breath as she has a small flash back to that day 8 years ago.

She a Shin had only known each other for two days before then. Her parents had stayed at the Hibachi residence for a couple of days because her parents had something very important to discuss with Mr. Hibachi.

She and Shin had played a lot during those two days and so she had been lead to think that Shin was a nice polite young boy. So sure she went with him on that day to the gardens to play. He had lead her to the courtyard near the back of the garden out of sight from the house for what she thought was going to be a game of hide-and-seek.

But strangely when she had rounded the corner she saw him sitting on that stone bench. He then told her to sit on the edge of the bench and turn away from him telling her that he had a surprise for her. Curious she did what he asked.

Then to her shock he then came up behind her and stuck both his hands up her shirt and began to grope her still yet to grow breasts and nipples. She struggled and cried for him to stop because he was hurting her.

But his hold on her was too great and he continued to grope her for about a minute or so before he put his mouth next to her ear and told her how beautiful and big she was going to be for him when they got married. That scared her enough but then he told her that her virginity was going to be his on their wedding night.

With that he let her go and got up. But before he left he told her not to tell anyone because noone would believe her. He then ran back to the house and left Shinobu crying there. It wasn't until an hour later before her mother found her and told her it was time to go. Shinobu was grateful that she thought that she would never see Shin ever again. But that was the wrong assumption.

She snaps out of her flashback when she feels Shin begin to caress her neck with his finger sending chill bumps down her body. "That was a very special day for me Shinobu, because it was the 1st time I got to touch your soft beautiful body. Yet you have disappointed me a bit. Although you have grown up beautiful you haven't grown big in the chest like I said for you to do. But since I'm rich, we can have that 'fixed' after we get married." he says with an evil sly tone of voice.

This scares Shinobu. "But…But I like my breasts the way they are. I don't want them 'fixed'." says Shinobu nervously. "It doesn't matter what you want. You WILL be big for me one way or another." says Shin in the same tone of voice.

Shinobu's face turns pale again at his comment. "You are going to look so sexy in that wedding dress. I can't wait to rip it off of you on our wedding night! I can see it now, the two of us doing it all night long." he continues.

He then brings his hand around her shoulder. "How about we have a little preview of what's to come." he says slyly. Shinobu begins to tremble even more as she feels the tips of his fingers go underneath her shirt collar and then begin to mess with her bra strap.

"No! He's doing it again! No!" Shinobu shouts in her head. "No! I won't let him to it again!" she shouts in her head again. With that she grabs a hold of his hand and throws it off her.

Shin's face turns to one of anger but quickly changes back to one of slyness. "Ohhhh feisty. I HATE FIESTY!" he growls at her. "But I guess that's another thing we'll have to fix about you too. After all, I can't have a disobedient wife now can I?" he says with an evil sly tone.

This sends another cold shiver down Shinobu's spine. Not only does he want her body to his liking he also wants her mentally to his liking. She then stands up quickly. "If you will excuse me." she says kind of rudely and a bit flustered.

"GASP!" Shinobu gasps loudly in surprise as she feels something ice cold grab her right butt cheek from under her skirt. "Ohh. Nice and warm." says Shin eagerly. Shinobu can feel his cold hand grabbing her butt cheek and messing with the edge of her panties. She then spins around and slaps his hand away hard.

"Get your hands off me!" she shouts as she takes a couple of quick steps back. "Heh. Fine. I'll be able to have your body anytime I want once were married anyway." he says slyly again with a look of evil slyness on his face.

Shinobu can't take it anymore. She turns around and starts to run back to the house in a full sprint, leaving Shin evilly giggling to himself. Shinobu knows he is laughing at her. It's as if she can here is evil laughter echoing in her head. She can feel tears begin to whelp up in her eyes.

Finally she reaches the backdoor and runs in. She turns down the hall, passing her surprised parents, Mr. Hibachi, and Naru near the den entrance, and right into the bathroom, and she shuts the door.

"Well when you gotta go you gotta go." figures Mr. Hibachi out loud. But Naru knows better. She knows Shin tried something. She balls her hands into fists over her knees and imagines beating the shit out him ten times worse than she has ever beaten Keitaro, no a thousand times worse!

Meanwhile Shinobu is leaning against the door catching her breath. She then stands back up a bit and looks at herself in the mirror. She watches as her image in the mirror goes blurry and tears begin to stream down her face.

She then sits down on the toilet (lid down) and brings her knees up to her chin. "He did it again! He hasn't changed a bit!" she shouts in her head. More tears begin to fall and she begins to sob quietly to herself. She cries for about 10 minuets before she finally calms herself down and heads back to the den where she pretty much stays silent for the rest of the visit.

A few hours later the Meaharas have just dropped off Shinobu and Naru in front of the Hinata Sou steps and are pulling away. As they turn the corner to go across the bridge Shinobu finally breaks down and begins to sob heavily.

Naru quickly comes over and begins to hold Shinobu. "Shinobu what did he do to you?" she asks with helpless concern. "He did it again! He groped me again! He tried grabbing my breasts again but I stopped him! But before I could leave he went under my skirt and grabbed my ass from behind! SOB! SOB! I hate him Naru! I HATE ALL OF THEM! SOB! SOB!"

Naru can't help but let a couple of tears fall from her eyes too. Then she gets pissed. "I gonna kill him!" kind of pissed. "Don't worry Shinobu. I promise you. I'll never let him harm you again. You hear me? NEVER!" says Naru a bit angry.

"But." "But nothing! I don't care if I do wined up in up in jail for it! I'll beat him so badly he'll never be able to touch you again!" says Naru vigorously interrupting Shinobu. Shinobu is a little surprised at Naru's sudden outburst, but then smiles a bit.

"Really?" asks Shinobu. "You can count on it. And besides, you're going to be married to Keitaro soon. After that your parents will have to call off the arranged marriage to Shin." answers Naru with a thumbs up.

Tears begin to pour down Shinobu's face again. But this time tears of gratefulness. "Come on. Let's get something to eat. We have a big day tomorrow. You have to pack and we have to prepare to execute our plan." says Naru.

Shinobu nods her head an agreement and they head back up to Hinata Sou.

End of Chapter 5

To be continued in Chapter 6: The Escape.

Author Note: Wow a long chapter this time. Shin's a real bastard an't he? Sorry that this chapter is late and so long! My computer HD crashed rendering my computer useless right now. Thankfully my mother's computer has Microsoft Word on it. (Even though it still runs on Windows 95!) I have had to order a new HD for my computer so until it comes I am without home internet access. But don't worry. All my fanfics I have were backed-up on floppies (although I can't say the same for my Love Hina and Negima Picture collection!). Also I have been slammed with A LOT of college work and have had little spare time to work on my fanfics. But don't worry. I have been working on them every spare moment I have. I can still work on my fanfics…just not as often as I use to but I still try. BTW if Shin's physical description reminds you of anyone it should. He looks a lot like the blonde guy from Tokyo Mew Mew (Mew Mew Power- Eliot)

Story Note: You have now seen why Shinobu hates Shin so much. What plan has Keitaro and the girls come up with to help Shinobu and Keitaro elope and not be caught? Read the next chapter to find out!


	6. The Escape

Kiranta: I'm glad I'm not the only one.

AzureSky123: This chapter will answer your question

Sci-Fi Raptor: I'll still never forgive you for killing Shinobu in your last fic….

ShinobuFan175: He's too sly to be a wife beater. He's thinking more along the lines of maybe either medication or a psychiatrist to make her obedient.

(o)

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

WARNING: Contains some bad language. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 6 **

**The Escape **

November 15th 7a.m. It's Shinobu's 16th birthday but there is little if any party celebration plans being executed on this birthday. In fact it looks more like a gracefully coordinated train wreak!

Why you ask? Well it's because everyone had planned on waking up at about 5:00 a.m. in order to prepare for Shinobu and Keitaro's planned eloping. However they had thrown Shinobu a surprise birthday party the night before and it had lasted well into the night. And as you might expect most everyone (anyone over 16) passed out drunk and woke up 2 hours late!…..With migraines of course. And now they are racing to make up for lost time.

"Damnit Kitsune! Didn't I tell you NOT to bring any alcohol to Shinobu's birthday party last night! THIS IS EXACTLY THE REASON WHY!" shouts Naru as she rushes to carry a large basket of cloths through the living room to the wash room.

"Sorry! But how was I to know that it would end up like this?" shouts Kitsune back. Everyone in the den including Su suddenly becomes 10x larger than her and stares down at her with glaring red eyed faces. "……Eh heh heh heh…Right…" says Kitsune nervously with a large sweat drop on the back of her head.

Su and Sara are both rushing around with brooms, mops and some rags to clean the place for Shinobu's parents and the Hibachi's more than expected "unexpected" visit later that morning. Naru is busy with cleaning some cloths that she and Kitsune are going to need for the plan. Motoko surprisingly is up on the roof hanging some cloths out to dry. She knows Shinobu is too busy preparing and packing so she volunteered to help out.

And where is Keitaro? The poor guy is running around trying to coordinate it all, all the while trying to pack up himself! Kitsune however is only laughing to herself as she watches this "graceful train wreak" play itself out in front of her.

But while she watches Naru speed into the wash room with the basket, something pops into her head. "Oh! I forgot!" she shouts to herself. She then heads up stares to her room to get something. Everyone else figures it's to get more sake.

Meanwhile Shinobu is in her room packing her suitcase going at a slightly slower but still fast pace. She had planned on packing the night before, but with the surprise birthday party and subsequent passing out she never did, and now she has to do it quickly.

She has just gotten through packing away the last of her "unmentionables" (underwear) when she takes a look at her watch. "OH NO! It's already 7:05! I've gotta fix breakfast!" she shouts to herself.

She takes one more quick look around the room. "Let's see, shirts. Check. Pants, PJs, and underwear. Check. Toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, and shampoo. Check. Make-up kit. Check. Train ticket…….AHH Where's my ticket!" she shouts. She quickly scans the room in like two seconds.

"Ah there it is." she says with relief. She walks over to her desk and picks it up. She looks at the destination city it says on the front and grins. "I can't believe I'm going to do it! After these 2 long years of loving him with all my heart from afar I'm actually going to marry him!" she thinks to herself excitingly.

She looks back at her watch really quick. "AHHH! I have no time to daydream! I need to get moving!" she shouts again. She quickly rushes back over to her suitcase, closes and zips it up. She then lays the ticket on the top and quickly rushes out the door to the kitchen.

A few minutes later her door slowly slides open and someone pokes their head in. It's none other than Kitsune. She looks around for a moment to see if Shinobu is in. When she doesn't see her, she sneaks into her room carrying something and quietly shuts the door.

Kitsune slowly tiptoes over to Shinobu's suitcase and unzips it. She removes a few articles of clothing before she finds what she is looking for. She takes out the cloths that she found and carefully places what she was carrying in place of them. She then carefully places the cloths she took out back into Shinobu's suitcase the way she had them and then zips it up and places the ticket back on top.

She then takes the articles clothing that she had replaced and puts them back in Shinobu's drawers. "He he he he he he! These outta heat things up for those two." she says to herself slyly. She then silently sneaks out of Shinobu's room and goes back to watching the "graceful train wreak" once again.

A few minutes later Shinobu has breakfast ready….bacon and eggs. This seems to be the only time of the morning in which everyone gathers in the same room together and actually slows down…. even if it is for about two minutes. Everyone scarfs down their food and goes back to their assigned chores.

A few minutes later the phone rings in the hallway and Keitaro picks up. "Hello?….Oh hello Mrs. Meahara." he says while trying to "stay in character." "….. Yes she's here but she's a bit busy….. Ok hang on a second. Shinobu!" shouts Keitaro.

Shinobu's opens her door, pokes her head out, and looks down the hall to Keitaro. "Shinobu it's your mother…..again." says Keitaro sarcastically. "I'm busy! Can you tell her to call back later?" asks Shinobu.

"Afraid not. She says she needs to speak with you now." answers Keitaro. "MOAAAAN. Ok! Tell her I'm changing cloths and I'll be there in just a second." says Shinobu. "Ok." answers Keitaro.

Keitaro brings the phone back up to his ear. "She's changing cloths right now but she'll be here in just a minute." says Keitaro into the phone. A minute later Shinobu walks out of her room wearing her bluish green travel dress, but without the blue pantyhose or shoes.

Keitaro hands over the phone and Shinobu brings it up to her ear. She has gotten at least two dozen calls from her mother since yesterday morning and it's about to drive her nuts. "Hello mother." she says sarcastically.

"Shinobu please! Stop being so damn rude when you answer the phone!" shouts her mother over the phone. "Yes mother." answers Shinobu in a slightly less sarcastic tone.

"Anyway you know today is your wedding right?" asks Mrs. Meahara. "Yes mother! You've only been reminding me about at least 100 times since yesterday morning!" answers Shinobu.

"You know how to get to the Hibachi mansion right?" asks Mrs. Meahara. "Yes mom. I take the #2 bus to Fuitiki street and then the #5 bus strait to Hibachi lane." answers Shinobu. "Good. Good." says Mrs. Meahara.

Somehow Shinobu had convinced her parents to let her arrive alone without them coming to pick her up. However it was under the condition that she would be there in time for the dressing or else they would come over and drag her to the wedding.

"And do you remember what time the dressing is?" asks Mrs. Meahara. "8:30 a.m.! I know! I know!" answers Shinobu. "But I might be a few minutes late. I'm kind of in a rush here!" adds Shinobu.

"How come you're running late? You're not planning on ditching this wedding are you?" shouts Mrs. Meahara. "NO! It's just well…." Shinobu tries to think of an excuse, but decides just to tell her what really happened.

"Well last night my friends decided to throw me a surprise birthday party, because as you know I have a wedding today! Well it went a little too late into the night and I woke up late. So if I'm a few minutes late please forgive me ok!" explains Shinobu.

"Fine. It won't take but about 15 to 20 minutes to get you dressed in your gown anyway so I'll give you a few minutes extension. But you had better have your ass over here by then OR ELSE! GOT IT!" yells Mrs. Meahara.

"Ok! Ok! There's no need to shout! God!" answers Shinobu back. "Shinobu….. don't you DARE disappoint me. I want you back here with us soon. In fact as soon as this wedding is over you're moving in with the Hibachis immediately. We'll have someone come pack and deliver your stuff to you later." explains Mrs. Meahara.

Shinobu's face turns a slight pale. "What! You mean I don't even get to say good-bye! But why didn't you ever tell me this?" shouts Shinobu. "Would you have ever gone along with it if we had told you before hand?" says Mrs. Meahara.

"I NEVER WANTED TO GO ALONG WITH THIS IN THE 1ST PLACE!" shouts Shinobu back. "SHUT-UP! You just make sure you have your ass here by 8:40 or else we're coming to get you!" shouts Mrs. Meahara back. She then slams the phone down hard on its hook.

Shinobu hangs up the phone on her end. "Damn them! They're not wasting any time with this! Guys! Kick it into High gear! I managed to buy us 10 more minutes, but we still have to hurry!" shouts Shinobu. Everyone nods their heads and hurry to finish their chores while Shinobu and Keitaro go to finish packing their stuff.

About 15 minutes pass when there is a knock on Shinobu's door. "Come in!" comes a panicked response. Shinobu's door slides open and in walks Naru. "Can I help you Naru? I'm kind of busy right now." says Shinobu with just a quick glance.

Naru watches her for a second as she races around the room trying to pack her bunny pack with the appropriate items. (Wallet, I.D., keys, etc. stuff that would normally go in a purse) "Shinobu you need to slow down for a bit." says Naru.

"SLOW DOWN? ARE YOU CRAZY? I can't! I still have to finish packing, get my personal belongings together, and, and…" Shinobu tries to finish her sentence but is too much in a panicked state to do so.

"Listen Shinobu. How about you catch a quick dip in the hotsprings? I'll finish up here for you." says Naru. "BUT!" "Look your head is going 100 miles a minute. At this rate you'll collapse before you even reach the front door." says Naru cutting off Shinobu.

She goes over and starts to push Shinobu out of her room gently. "What you need is to relax for a few minutes. Just take a quick 10 minute dip to rest and catch your breath. Alright? Besides you never took one after the party, and you kinda still smell of alcohol." says Naru sweetly.

Shinobu turns around after reaching her doorway and just looks at Naru with a slightly puzzled look. Naru just smiles back. "Don't worry. I'll finish here for you." says Naru. Shinobu then grins slightly. "Thank you Naru." she says. Naru smiles back and then shuts the door.

With in a few minutes Shinobu has wrapped a towel around her naked body and enters the hotsprings area. She suddenly hears a small splashing noise and looks over at where the noise came from. Her eyes then grow wide in shock at what she sees.

"S-s-s-s-s-SEMPAI?" she shouts. Keitaro instantly spins around in the springs and looks right at Shinobu. "Sh-Sh-Shinobu what are you doing here?" he shouts back in shock. "I'm sorry Sempai! Naru told me to come down here to take a small break and, and…" she stutters while flapping her arms like a hummingbird.

"Wait. Naru told you to come down here?" asks Keitaro. "Yes." answers Shinobu. "Naru was the one who told ME to come down here now." says Keitaro. Shinobu's eyes open wide in shock again.

"Naru….said…." she says with disbelief. Shinobu turns around slightly to look up at her window. She sees Naru walking around, then glance out the window and smile, and then go back to what ever she was doing. Shinobu then smiles.

"Heh. Thank you Naru." she says to herself. She then turns back to Keitaro. "Sempai is it ok if I can join you?" she says a bit embarrassed. "Uh…I guess so. I guess we'll have to sit facing away from each other." he answers.

Shinobu enters the hotspring and sits a little ways from Keitaro and starts to wash. She starts to soap up her left arm but then stops and frowns a little. "Sempai?" she asks shyly. "Hmm?" says Keitaro.

"Um….Why…..Why are you doing this?…. I mean why are you willing to go as far as to marry me just to help me?" asks Shinobu shyly. Keitaro stays silent for a moment not surprised to hear her question.

"Well Shinobu, you should know the answer to that better than anyone. I can't stand to see you sad. When ever I see you sad or depressed…..it hurts me. Every time I see you like that I just can't help but want to make you happy again. Out of all the people I have met in my life…. You have the most beautiful and cutest smile I have ever seen." says Keitaro.

Shinobu blushes a little. "…Oh." she answers a little embarrassed. "And besides I want to see you grow up and live your own life for a while. You know, to see you graduate high school and go on to college and then graduating. You start a career and all, before you marry a guy.…. I know your 'Mr. Right' is out there somewhere Shinobu. I just want to give you a chance to find him someday. I know you'll make him one of the happiest men alive when you do. I guess what I'm saying is that I want to give you a chance to make your own decisions." he adds.

Shinobu smiles again, but it's more of a sad smile as she washes the back of her neck with a washcloth. There is a momentary silence between the two before Keitaro speaks up. "Well…. I guess I'll head back in. You coming?" asks Keitaro.

"Oh…um… I'll be out in a minute. I just need a moment to myself." answers Shinobu. "Ok then. I'll call you when I'm done dressing." says Keitaro as he stands up. Shinobu glances back for a second at Keitaro exiting the hotsprings.

She suddenly spins back around and puts her hands over her cheeks as she begins to blush brighter than a cherry. "OH MY GOD! I JUST SAW HIS BARE ASS FROM UNDER HIS TOWEL!" she shouts to herself.

After a moment she takes some water and splashes her face several times. "Come on Shinobu SNAP OUT OF IT!" she shouts to herself. After a few seconds of splashing herself with water she leans back against the edge of the hotsprings.

"Wheeeeww" she lets out a big sigh while releasing some tension. She takes her right fist and pats out a bit more tension out her left neck muscle. She then leans back a bit further against the edge of the springs against her elbows and sprawls out her legs to get into an all out relaxed position.

She then looks strait up into the morning sky and begins thinking to herself. "You haven't changed one bit Sempai. Ever since that 1st day I met you, all you have done is try and help me………….Oh Sempai don't you know that YOU are my 'Mr. Right?' No matter how many boys I end up dating or even if I do fall in love with another man and marry him, I could never fully love him as much as I do you. You'll always be the one for me no matter what happens. I know that you love Naru and it is her you really want to marry….and will probably ask her do so after all of this…..and I know that I will probably never have any real chance with you, but even if I do end up marrying another man later in my life, having kids, and growing old together with him, I could never forget you no matter how hard I try…. after all you are my 1st love!……. I love you so much Sempai!….. Sigh I hate sounding selfish but how I wish so much that we could stay married." she thinks to herself.

Shinobu lets a small tear of mixed emotions drip down her cheek. She then glances down at her right hand and sees the ring on her right finger. "Oh no not again! I forgot to take it off before I came in here again." she says to herself.

Then she thinks of something. "Well I guess since today's the day I can do it now." she says to herself. She then takes the ring off her right ring finger and looks at it for a moment. She then slips it onto her left ring finger. She looks at it for a moment and smiles as it glimmers in the sun.

"Shinobu!" calls out Keitaro. Shinobu quickly dunks her hands below the water again and turns around. "Huh?" she asks. "I'm done dressing. You can get dressed now." he answers. "Ok thank you." she answers. Shinobu turns back and around and looks at her ring one last time and smiles before she gets out of the hotspring and gets redressed.

8:30 a.m. There is a knock at Shinobu's door. "Come in." she answers. The door slides open and in walks Keitaro. "Hi Sempai." says Shinobu. Keitaro looks over and can see her scribbling something down on her note pad on her desk. "Shinobu we're all ready. Your luggage and stuff is waiting by the front door. We need to hurry." says Keitaro.

"I know. I just need to finish this note to my parents for when they arrive first." answers Shinobu. "Oh yeah I forgot about the note." says Keitaro remembering the note. He walks over and takes a quick look at the note and notices something wrong.

"Um Shinobu…. You wrote down the wrong city." says Keitaro. Shinobu looks at Keitaro for a second and then back to the note. "OH NO! You're right!" she shouts with a shocked look. She quickly tears out the note, crumples it, and throws it into her empty wastebasket. She quickly begins to scribble down another note.

When she gets through writing she tears it out of her note pad and lays it on her bed in plain sight so her parents would be able to find it easily. "You ready?" asks Keitaro. Shinobu takes a quick glance around her room to see if she is forgetting anything. "Yep. I'm ready! Let's go!" says Shinobu cheerfully.

Moments later she and Keitaro have their suitcases and other travel materials in hand and are saying their good-byes to everyone. However is seems Naru is staying back just a little with a slightly sad face. "Good-bye everyone! See you guys in a few days!" says Shinobu.

"Good luck everyone. Don't forget your roles in this plan also." says Keitaro. "We won't Keitaro. Now get outta here before you guys miss your train!" shouts Kitsune. "Ok see you all later!" says Keitaro.

He and Shinobu turn around and begin to walk out the front door. "WAIT!" shouts a voice. Both of them turn around quickly just in time to see Naru run through the group of girls and come up and hug Keitaro in a tight embrace.

"N-Naru!" says Keitaro with surprise. Naru holds him for a moment before she finally pulls back a little. She stares right into his eyes for a moment before she closes in and plants a passionate kiss right onto his lips. Everyone including Keitaro open their eyes in shock at Naru's sudden boldness.

She kisses him for a few more seconds (mixing in a little tongue while she's at it) before she finally pulls out of the kiss. Everyone is left stunned at what they have just witnessed. Naru then begins to shed a few tears.

"I'm…I'm sorry Keitaro. I'm sorry I kissed you like that out of the blue! But…. I-I love you! I love you with all my heart! And before you go and do this I just had to let you know! Sniff. Please be careful! And please take care of Shinobu for me….for us all!" says Naru with teary eyes but with a big smile.

It takes a moment for Keitaro to snap out of the shock caused by Naru's sudden outpouring of emotions. He then drops his suitcase and wraps his free arm around her. "It's ok Naru. I love you as well. I promise you I'll take good care of Shinobu." he answers.

He pulls back a little and then kisses her forehead and smiles. Naru smiles back but then glances over and sees Shinobu's saddened look. "I'm sorry Shinobu. But I love him so much…. I just had to tell him before you guys left." says Naru with a slightly quivering voice.

"Uh-uh." says Shinobu as she shakes her head no. "It's ok. I completely understand. I know that you two love each other and that you two are meant for each other. I know he's is only marrying me to help me and is only going to be temporary so there is no need to apologize. I know I have already lost him to you." says Shinobu with a smile but with a noticeable quiver in her voice.

Naru smiles back a little, but is a little hurt by what Shinobu just said. She knows how much of a strain this is on Shinobu right now. And her bravery through this far exceeds hers.

"Ok now that we got that out of the way, LET OPERATION 'ELOPE A DOPE' BEGIN!" shouts Kitsune as she thrusts her fist into the air. "RIGHT!" shout the rest of the girls as they also thrust their fists into the air. "You know I really wish you guys had come up with a better name for this plan." complains Keitaro.

"Will you just shut-up and get outta here already!" shouts Naru. "Ok! Ok!" answers Keitaro. He bends over and picks up his suitcase. He and Shinobu turn around and walk to the long slight of steps in from of Hinata Sou. They head down a little ways. But before they get out of sight they turn around one last time.

"Bye everyone!" they both shout and wave their hands. "BYE!" shout the rest of the girls as they also wave. "And be sure to remember to call me Mrs. Urishima when we get back ok!" adds Shinobu. Everyone else laughs a little. Shinobu and Keitaro turn back around and begin race down the steps to the bus stop below so they won't miss their bus.

As Keitaro and Shinobu race down the steps they look up and can see Haruka standing in front of her teahouse with a small paper bag in her hand and typical cigarette in mouth. They both stop in front of her.

"Is there something you need Haruka?" asks Keitaro. "Here" she answers as she holds out the bag. Keitaro holds out his hand and she drops the bag into his hand. "What's this?" asks Keitaro.

"That is my little contribution to this little plan of yours." answers Haruka. "What's in it?" asks Shinobu. "The bag has about 7,000 yen (about $700) in it, because I heard that you guys were a little short on money." answers Haruka.

"Ha! Ha! Ha! You sure got that right. Although we saved for weeks we still could just barely afford the tickets." says Keitaro with a laugh. "BTW. I called up Mutsumi about all of this. And she wanted me to let you know that if you guys ever got in a jam that you could come to her place to hide out for a while because as you know she is visiting her family for the week." adds Haruka.

"Really?" asks Keitaro. Haruka nods her head. "WOW! Thanks a lot Aunt Haruka! This is a big help! Thank You! How can I ever repay you!" shouts Keitaro as he gives Haruka a hug. Haruka promptly responds by elbowing him in the head and sending him crashing into the ground.

"That's HARUKA you knucklehead. And you can repay me with 10 of the rent money every month until you've paid me back." says Haruka in a calm manner. "Um… Miss Haruka…. I would prefer it if my fiancée was conscious for our wedding." says Shinobu a bit sarcastically. It only takes minute before Keitaro regains conscious and slowly stands back up holding his head.

"Ok see you two later. And good luck." says Haruka. "Thanks Haruka. You've been a big help. See you around." says Keitaro. "Thank you Miss Haruka. See you later!" shouts Shinobu. Keitaro and Shinobu then begin to race down the steps once again.

"No Problem! Oh and BTW! Happy Birthday Shinobu!" shouts Haruka. "Thanks!" shouts Shinobu back as she waves back. Within a moment Shinobu and Keitaro reach the bus stop just in time to board the bus moments before it pulls away.

8:50 a.m. the front door to Hinata Sou in flung open hard with a loud slam. Motoko, Su, and Sara look from the den and can see Shinobu's parents (looking mad as hell) and Shin all come running into the building. "SHINOBU! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" shouts Mr. Meahara in a fit of rage.

"I'll go cheek her room." says Mrs. Meahara. She then runs down the hall to Shinobu's room. Mr. Meahara turns to the den and sees the 6 eyes looking at him. "Alright you 3 WHERE IS SHE?" he shouts.

"I don't know." answers Su. "Shinobu's not here. I saw her leave a little while ago." answers Motoko. "WHERE TO?" shouts Mrs. Meahara. "Well I suppose she's on her way to her wedding! Isn't it today? Other than that I have no idea where she is." responds Motoko with a slightly more defiant voice.

"BULL SHIT! You 3 know exactly where she is! Now where is she?" shouts Mr. Meahara again. "Listen I have no idea where she went!" shouts Motoko from her seat. Mr. Meahara balls up his hand into a fist and is just about to charge Motoko in anger when Mrs. Meahara come running out of Shinobu's room.

"Hey! She left a note on her bed!" shouts Mrs. Meahara. "Let me see!" demands Mr. Meahara. "Ok but you're not going to like what it says." answers Mrs. Meahara as she hands over the note. Mr. Meahara takes it and begins to read it.

_"Dear Mom and dad. By the time you read this I will be gone. I can't stand being around you and the Hibachis anymore. I have run off with Urishima Sempai to Asahikawa to escape your madness! Don't even bother coming after me because I won't be coming back!_

_Shinobu_

_P.S. – (there is a little mad SD face of Shinobu flipping the bird)_

Mr. Meahara crumples the note in his hand as he balls it into a fist. He then punches the wall beside him easily busting a hole in the wall. "DAMN THAT LITTLE SLUTTY BITCH! DAMN HER TO HELL!" he shouts out loud.

He then looks back at Motoko and the other two girls. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU STOP HER!" he shouts at them. "How the hell was I supposed to know that she was going to run off!" Motoko asks loudly.

"You guys are her so called friends! You're supposed to know if she was going to run! You should have stopped her!" shouts Mr. Meahara. Motoko just gives a small smirk. "Wasn't it you that told Naru and us that this was a private Meahara family matter and for us not to interfere. So if she wants to run off, it's your problem not ours." answers Motoko.

Mr. Meahara just stands there totally flabbergasted at what Motoko just said to him. He lowers his head and shakes in anger because they had twisted the meaning of his words. He knows he's been out-bushwhacked but decides to let it go for now. He then turns to Shin.

"Shin! Come on! We're going after her right now!" he shouts. "Right." responds Shin. Mr. Meahara then turns to Mrs. Meahara. "You stay here in case they come back ok." he orders. "Ok." responds Mrs. Meahara.

He and Shin turn around and run out the door. Motoko, Su, and Sara trade a quick smile to each other after doing their part in the plan.

Meanwhile…. Shinobu and Keitaro have just arrived at the train station and are rushing to their train. They board the correct train and manage to find a couple of empty seats just a couple of minutes before the train's doors shut and the train pulls out of the station.

They place their luggage in the racks above and they take their seats. The morning sun is to their backs and is lighting the inside of the car with a beautiful shade of orange. "Whew that was close. A minute later and we would have missed it!" says Keitaro with sigh of relief.

"Yeah." answers Shinobu a bit down. Keitaro looks over and sees her fidgeting a bit and holding her head. "You ok Shinobu?" he asks. "I'm ok. I just still have a bit of a headache from last night, and all the stress this morning." answers Shinobu.

A few minutes later Shinobu speaks up. "Um Sempai. Is it ok if I can lay down on your lap for a little while? I'm still exhausted and I would like to sleep this headache off too if that's ok with you." asks Shinobu.

"Um…Ok go ahead." answers Keitaro. "Thank you." says Shinobu. Shinobu scoots over a bit and lays her head on Keitaro's lap and she closes her eyes. And within a few minutes she is sound asleep.

All Keitaro can do is look down, smile, and rub her hair a little. He then reaches down and pulls out his train ticket. He then reads the name of the destination city……"Kyoto."

End of Chapter 6

To be continued in Chapter 7- The Pursuit

Author Note: Yet another long chapter. I'm sorry if this one seemed to be a little boring, but not much happened except…well "The Escape." BTW Asahikawa is the 2nd largest city in Hokkaido, Japan. Also don't expect the next chapter to this story or my Negima fanfic anytime soon because I have Mid-Terms coming next week so I'm not going to have much time to work on them. But rest assured when my mid-terms are over I will get right back on them when I can.

Story Hint: Did anyone catch the fake-out? If you didn't then you need to go back and read. Anyway "The Pursuit" will be like chapter 4 was to Chapter 3. What are Naru and Kitsune's parts in this plan? How will Keitaro and Shinobu be married? Keep reading to find out!


	7. The Pursuit: Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

WARNING: Contains some bad language. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE **

**Chapter 7 **

**The Pursuit: Part 1**

November 15th 6:00 a.m. Mrs. Maehara's alarm clock goes off. She reaches up and turns it off. She sits up in bed, literally throws the covers off of her and stands up quickly. Unlike the Hinata Sou residents she is eager to get out of bed. She has actually been awake for the past 15 minutes just waiting for the alarm to go off.

She walks over to the window and throws open the curtains letting the very early morning sun shine through. She opens the window and allows the cool morning air to enter the room. She takes in a deep breath of the morning air and gives a good old stretch. She looks out from the third story window at the Hibachi gardens just below all the way to the central plaza where the wedding is to take place. The night before she and Mr. Maehara stayed at the Hibachi residence so they could prepare and greet the guests as they come in.

"Well….Today's the day!" she says eagerly. "Finally my daughter comes back to us. I'm glad we're going to finally get her out of that garbage bin of a dormitory and back where she belongs. Whether she likes it or not this is for her and our family's own good. She will learn to stop defying us. Whether she knows it or not I know that one day she will thank us for getting her out and away from those freaks before it was too late, even if it took forcing her to get married. I'm just happy we could find her such a decent and handsome young man for her. I can only wonder how long it will be before we see our first grandbaby." says her mother selfishly with a grin.

She smiles again as she remembers back a few days. "I can tell she really likes Shin a lot anyway. I could tell by how nervous she was before hand and how nervous she looked when she saw him again. Such a lie when she told us that he molested her. Just her way trying to defy us again. There's no way a sweet gentleman like him could have ever done that. She looked so cute looking so shy around him. She was just too nervous to say she really liked him. And she looked so beautiful with that vale on. I can't wait to see and videotape her in her dress and this happy time for her." she adds.

She again looks out of the third story window again and looks to the backyard at all the wedding decorations. At least 25 rows of 15 fold out metal chairs with cushions built into them. A long red carpet from the back row leading all the way up to the large white wooden archway with several different varieties of roses covering it and two bell ordainments hanging in the middle. A small foot stool behind it for the priest to stand on while performing the ceremony, and the fountain behind that. Everything seems perfectly placed for the ceremony that is to be preformed later that morning.

Mrs. Maehara looks back at her clock. "6:10 already? I had better start getting ready. The guests should start arriving at around 7:30." she says to herself. With that she walks over to her closet and opens it up. She gets out a beautiful, and expensive, light blue, fancy ankle-length dress and lays it on the bed. She then goes into the bathroom, shuts the door and begins to take a shower.

7:15 soon rolls around and Mrs. Maehara makes her way out of the mansion through the backyard gardens and the tall hedges strung with white ribbon and out into the central garden plaza. She looks over and sees Mr. Maehara and Mr. Hibachi talking to each other near the fountain and she makes her way over to them.

"Wow Mrs. Maehara. That's some dress!" says Mr. Hibachi politely. "Why thank you. It should since it cost 2000 yen ($200). By the way where's Shin?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "Oh he's still in his room talking with a few of his school buddies. They still probably haven't completely recovered from his bachelor party last night." answers Mr. Hibachi with a grin.

"Oh lord. Please don't remind me of the fiasco last night!" says Mr. Maehara out loud. "Why? What happened?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "Well…uh…. I kind of hired a stripper for him…." says Mr. Hibachi trying to avoid getting yelled at.

"So….." says Mrs. Maehara. "Well Shin wouldn't even look at her while she …. did her job….. He got a little annoyed and left the room right in the middle of her act. Well the poor girl felt insulted and left, but I still had to pay her in full. I later asked why he did that and he told me he only wants to she Shinobu strip for him." explains Mr. Hibachi.

"He was a little bit under the influence at the time so I don't think me meant to say it that way." says Mr. Hibachi while rubbing the back of his head. "I think that's sweet to say! He only wants to see my sweet Shinobu and no one else. How romantic!" says Mrs. Maehara with a smile.

"Did I ever tell you how popular he was during school?" asks Mr. Hibachi. "A little bit." answers Mrs. Maehara. "Well girl after girl would send him letters, give him little trinkets, and a couple of times even try to flash him to get his attention. But he always turned them down saying he already had a girl for him. I really think that girl was Shinobu all along. I think he actually fell in love with her the first time they met." explains Mr. Hibachi.

"Oh how sweet. He considers Shinobu his childhood sweetheart! We really did pick the perfect man for her didn't we?" she says happily to Mr. Hibachi and Maehara. "Yeah. We should've never turned down Hibachi's offer in the first place. And to think we wanted her to make her own choices. To bad they started to be the wrong ones the moment she decided to move into that damn dorm." says Mr. Maehara.

"Well I'm just glad you were able to come up with a way to set her back on the right path before she got too far down the wrong one." says Mr. Hibachi with a smile of approval. It's about this time when the butler Kinichi approaches them. "Sir. The first guests starting to arrive." says the butler. "Thank you Kinichi. Just send them on back here. Well I guess it's time to start greeting our guests." says Mr. Hibachi.

Within about 15 minutes several people are already in the garden area talking with other friends and relatives. Most of the guests are other wealthy business people from around Japan and a couple of other countries. But there are many family members from both families.

Mrs. Maehara has been greeting friends and other family members for about 10 minutes when she looks at her watch. "7:40." she says to herself. She turns to Mr. Maehara and Mr. Hibachi. "I'm going to go call Shinobu now ok. You two just keep greeting everyone for me ok." says Mrs. Maehara. "Ok. And be sure to tell her if she decides to try to delay or skip the wedding today that we're going to come after her." says Mr. Maehara sternly. "Don't worry. I am." answers Mrs. Maehara.

She greets one more guest before heading back to the mansion. She walks in through the back door and through the kitchen, past the seven chefs who are busy making the last preparations on the hous doeuvres and other various foods, past the huge seven layered wedding cake, through the long hallway and into Mr. Hibachi's office at the end. She walks in and shuts the door behind her.

She picks up the phone on his desk and dials the number for Hinata Sou that she has practically memorized. She hears it ring a few times until someone picks up. "Hello." she hears a male voice say. She knows instantly that it's Keitaro. She cringes a bit as she hears that high pitched unmanly voice; the voice of the person who has corrupted her precious Shinobu and has tried to make her forget about her parents and family. But she gathers herself.

"Hello there manager-san. This is Mrs. Maehara." says Mrs. Maehara with fake sweetness in her voice. "Oh hello Mrs. Maehara." says Keitaro. "Is Shinobu still there or has she left yet?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "Yes she's here but she's a bit busy right now." answers Keitaro.

"Well I need to talk with her right now please." says Mrs. Maehara. "Ok hang on a second." says Keitaro. She hears him call out for Shinobu. Within a couple of seconds she hears Shinobu answer him in the background. She hears them talking back and forth but can't understand what there saying.

Then she hears Keitaro come back on the line. "She's changing cloths right now but she'll be here in just a minute." says Keitaro. "That's ok I'll wait." answers Mrs. Maehara. With in a minute or so she hears the phone be exchanged.

"Hello mother." she hears Shinobu say sarcastically. "Shinobu please! Stop being so damn rude when you answer the phone!" shouts Mrs. Maehara over the phone. "Yes mother." answers Shinobu in a slightly less sarcastic tone.

"Anyway you know today is your wedding right?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "Yes mother! You've only been reminding me about at least 100 times since yesterday morning!" answers Shinobu.

"You know how to get to the Hibachi mansion right?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "Yes mom. I take the #2 bus to Fuitiki street and then the #5 bus strait to Hibachi lane." answers Shinobu. "Good. Good." says Mrs. Maehara. "I don't know why we let her convince us to let her come here on her own. There's no reason for it." thinks Mrs. Maehara to herself.

"And do you remember what time the dressing is?" asks Mrs. Maehara. "8:30 a.m.! I know! I know!" answers Shinobu. "But I might be a few minutes late. I'm kind of in a rush here!" adds Shinobu.

"How come you're running late? You're not planning on ditching this wedding are you?" shouts Mrs. Maehara. "NO! It's just well…." she hears Shinobu hesitate for a moment. "Well last night my friends decided to throw me a surprise birthday party, because as you know I have a wedding today! Well it went a little too late into the night and I woke up late. So if I'm a few minutes late please forgive me ok!" explains Shinobu.

"Fine. It won't take but about 15 to 20 minutes to get you dressed in your gown anyway so I'll give you a few minutes extension. But you had better have your ass over here by then OR ELSE! GOT IT!" yells Mrs. Maehara.

"Ok! Ok! There's no need to shout! God!" answers Shinobu back. "Shinobu….. don't you DARE disappoint me. I want you back here with us soon. In fact as soon as this wedding is over you're moving in with the Hibachis immediately. We'll have someone come pack and deliver your stuff to you later." explains Mrs. Maehara.

She doesn't get a response from Shinobu for a couple of seconds until; "What! You mean I don't even get to say good-bye! But why didn't you ever tell me this?" shouts Shinobu. "Would you have ever gone along with it if we had told you before hand?" says Mrs. Maehara.

"I NEVER WANTED TO GO ALONG WITH THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" shouts Shinobu back. "Oh SHUT-UP! You just make sure you have your ass here by 8:40 or else we're coming to get you!" shouts Mrs. Maehara back. She then slams the phone down hard on its hook.

"Damn! There she goes again yelling at me! What the fuck is wrong with that girl? She likes Shin so why is she against us for? She had better have her ass here by then or else she'll have to stand longer than the 45 minutes for the ceremony! (spanking) But she knows what will happen if she doesn't get here."

Mrs. Maehara makes her way back out to the gardens and resumes greeting more guests. "So how is she?" asks Mr. Maehara. "She's fine. She said she's running a bit late because she woke up late. So I told her to be here by 8:40 or else. Pheeh! And she thinks it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to put on a gown. She should know it actually takes almost 30 to 45 minutes. I expected that she would try to come late so I planned a 10 minute buffer for this. She'll actually be right on time when she thinks she delayed the wedding." says Mr. Maehara with a confident smile.

"Good. But I really don't think she'll try to skip out on this wedding. She may not agree with us right now, but I doubt she has the courage to disobey us. She just doesn't have it in her. But if she tries we'll go over there and drag her here by her hair if we have to." says Mr. Maehara.

"I'm sure it won't have to come down to that Mr. Maehara. Shinobu will have to follow through for her family's sake. And mine." says Shin with fake politeness as he approaches his soon to be in-laws and father. "Oh hello Shin. My you look so handsome in that tailed Tuxedo." says Mrs. Maehara.

Shin is dressed-up in a sharp two-tailed Tuxedo with white gloves. His shinny blonde hair has been brushed back carefully with a part to one side. His greenish blue eyes are highlighted with a light touch of make-up. (a small amount to only accentuate his facial features; NOT make-up like eyeliner, blush, eye shadow, or lipstick. It's more like what male actors use when doing a movie.) His manly physic neatly rounded by his tux.

"Thank you Mrs. Maehara. And may I say you look gorgeous in that dress. Makes me glad that I know where Shinobu got her stunning beauty from." answers Shin as he takes Mrs. Maehara's hand and kisses it. Mrs. Maehara blushes slightly. "Oh my. Such the gentlemen. I'm so glad we chose you to marry our daughter." responds Mrs. Maehara.

"As Am I. Heh heh. As Am I." thinks Shin to himself slyly with a hidden evil sly grin. Shin looks up and notices someone waving to him. "If you all will please excuse me. Uncle Robert and Cousin Jamey just arrived and I'm going to go say hello." says Shin with fake politeness. He bows and then walks away.

"Ah yes. My wife's brother and my nephew from Australia. I haven't seen them in about six years. I'm going to go say hello also. I'll talk with you two later ok?" says Mr. Hibachi. "That's fine with us Hibachi. We have a few relatives we would like to say hello to also." answers Mr. Maehara. With that they bow and head off to say hello to their respective family members.

It's getting close to 8:40. Mrs. Maehara is standing near the bus stop at the end of the Hibachi's long driveway waiting for Shinobu's bus to arrive. She's been standing there for the past ten minutes anxiously awaiting Shinobu's arrival. She looks back at her watch really quick.

"8:40. Her bus should be here in just a few moments." she says to herself. And right on time she sees the #5 bus coming down the street. It takes it about a minute to reach the bus stop. Mrs. Maehara waits patiently as it finally pulls up to the bus stop.

She stands there and watches the bus open its doors. A few people exit the bus and after they get out a couple more board it…. but there's no sign of Shinobu. Mrs. Maehara gets a little irritated thinking that Shinobu is just taking her time getting off the bus. But then the doors start to close.

"WAIT!" she shouts. The bus driver catches the doors and opens them back up. Mrs. Maehara quickly boards it and stands by the change deposit. She looks back into the bus and can see just about everyone's eyes focused on her; all except the eyes she wants to see, Shinobu's. "DAMNIT!" she shouts in her head when she doesn't see Shinobu.

She gets off the bus pissed off as hell. The doors close and the bus pulls away. "Damn that little bitch! Damn! Damn! Damn! I'm going to rip her fucking head off for this!" shouts Mrs. Maehara in her head again. She immediately picks up her dress a little and begins running back to the mansion.

She reaches it in about two minutes and runs strait through it and out the backdoor. She runs all the way to the wedding area and right to Mr. Maehara. She jerks him around by his shoulder almost making him fall over. "What's wrong?" asks Mr. Maehara.

"Shinobu wasn't on the fucking bus!" says Mrs. Maehara angrily but still keeping it to a whisper. "What!" shouts Mr. Maehara whisperingly. Mr. Maehara gets an extremely angered look on his face and he balls his hand into a fist so hard you could hear a couple of his knuckles pop.

He looks back at Mrs. Maehara. "Come on. We're going after her right now!" he orders. Mrs. Maehara nods her head and then both turn around to leave. "I take it Shinobu wasn't on the bus and you're going after her now?" interrupts Shin. Both parents turn around and face Shin.

"Yes we are." answers Mr. Maehara with an upset voice. "Well then I'll come with you." says Shin. "Good idea. She won't be able to make a fuse in front of everyone when she gets here if you're with her when we come back." agrees Mrs. Maehara.

Mr. and Mrs. Maehara head on to Mr. Maehara's car while Shin goes over to his dad. "Dad Shinobu wasn't on the bus so the Maehara's and I are going to go get her. I'll call you when we're on our way back ok." explains Shin. "Ok. I'll hold things down here while you guys are gone." answers Mr. Hibachi with a nod.

Shin makes his way out to the car and takes of his tux coat and tie, tosses it into the back seat and gets in. Mr. Maehara backs the car out quickly and peals out a little down the driveway. He doesn't even take time to stop at the end of the driveway and just cuts across the road nearly making several cars crash. He drives in a suicidal manner, weaving in and out of traffic all the way to Hinata Sou.

It takes them about eight minutes before they arrive at front of the steps of Hinata Sou at 8:50. Mr. Maehara slams on the brakes and comes to the screeching halt in front of them. He throws the car into park and they all get out and start running up the steps, not even bothering to turn off the engine.

They run past Haruka's teahouse not even bothering to glance at Haruka sweeping the front entryway of the teahouse. Haruka gives a small grin. "Right on cue." she says to herself. She sticks her head back into the teahouse for a second. "Ok you guys they're here." says Haruka to someone.

A moment later Naru and Kitsune come out of the tea house carrying a suitcase a piece. "Alright! Time for phase two to commence!" shouts Kitsune. "You two have your tickets?" asks Haruka. "Yup! We got them right here!" says Naru. "Ok. Good luck to you then." says Haruka.

With that Naru and Kitsune make their way down the steps and hide in the bushes near the bottom of the steps near Mr. Maehara's car. "Now we had better hope that those three can stick to their parts." says Haruka as she looks back up at Hinata Sou.

Meanwhile Mr. Maehara flings open the front door of Hinata Sou with a loud slam and all three rush in. "SHINOBU! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!" shouts Mr. Maehara in a fit of rage.

"I'll go cheek her room." says Mrs. Maehara. She then runs down the hall to Shinobu's room. She flings open Shinobu's door and quickly scans the room. But she doesn't see Shinobu. "ALL RIGHT YOU THREE! WHERE THE HELL IS SHE!" she hears Mr. Maehara shout. She hears a few of the residents begin to argue with him but she ignores what they are saying.

She quickly scans the room again seeing if Shinobu maybe hiding somewhere, but still doesn't see her. That's when she spots it; a note lying on Shinobu's bed. She quickly goes over and picks it up and reads it.

_"Dear Mom and dad. By the time you read this I will be gone. I can't stand being around you and the Hibachis anymore. I have run off with Urishima Sempai to Asahikawa to escape your madness! Don't even bother coming after me because I won't be coming back!_

_Shinobu_

_P.S. – (there is a little mad SD face of Shinobu flipping the bird)_

Mrs. Maehara gets a very angry look on her face. "Asahikawa! Why that little BITCH!" shouts Mrs. Maehara to herself. She quickly runs out of the room and runs right to Mr. Maehara. "Hey! She left a note on her bed!" shouts Mrs. Maehara. "Let me see!" he demands. "Ok but you're not going to like what it says." answers Mrs. Maehara as she hands over the note. She watches as Mr. Maehara begins to read it and watches as his face begins to turn red with rage.

She looks over and finally notices the three girls looking right at them. Then she hears a low growl come from Mr. Maehara.

Mr. Maehara crumples the note in his hand as he balls it into a fist. He then punches the wall beside him easily busting a hole in the wall. "DAMN THAT LITTLE SLUTTY BITCH! DAMN HER TO HELL!" he shouts out loud.

He then looks back at Motoko and the other two girls. "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU STOP HER!" he shouts at them. "How the hell was I supposed to know that she was going to run off!" Motoko asks loudly.

"You guys are her so called friends! You're supposed to know if she was going to run! You should have stopped her!" shouts Mr. Maehara. Motoko just gives a small smirk. "Wasn't it you that told Naru and us that this was a private Maehara family matter and for us not to interfere. So if she wants to run off, it's your problem not ours." answers Motoko.

Mrs. Maehara looks as Mr. Maehara's face turns into one of confused surprise at what Motoko just said to him then lower his head and shake in anger because they had twisted the meaning of his words. He then turns to Shin.

"Shin! Come on! We're going after her right now!" he shouts. "Right." responds Shin. Mr. Maehara then turns to Mrs. Maehara. "You stay here in case they come back ok." he orders. "Ok." responds Mrs. Maehara.

He and Shin turn around and run out the door. Mrs. Maehara, meanwhile, walks back to Shinobu's room and walks in. She walks over to Shinobu's desk and kicks her chair across the room and it slams into the closet door. "Running away from us and her future with that BASTARD! What the fuck is she thinking?" shouts Mrs. Maehara.

End of Chapter 7

To Be Continued in Chapter 8- The Pursuit: Part 2

Author Note: This was supposed to be one chapter, but it got so long I had to split it into two shorter chapters. I hope you all don't mind. College has me slammed with a lot of work and I can tell you it an't easy work either! But I'm still making progress. BTW sorry it took two months to post this chapter. Thank you for your patients. Chapter 8 should be up sometime around Christmas or so.

Story Note: Sorry no Shinobu and Keitaro in this chapter. But there will be a small part in the end of the next chapter. After that you're just going to have to wait and see. See you next chapter!


	8. The Pursuit: Part 2

… - Yes I will admit I don't have the greatest grammar skills in the world, but I do try and fix as many mistakes as I can. But there is always bound to be a few that I miss. Please be tolerant to the few that I don't get. TY. Also unlike most authors here I write my stories in story book form not script form like so many other people. That means you can combine a few speaking parts together in one paragraph when it's talking about a certain subject.

Kidd – you're supposed to hate Shin. That's the point. Also don't worry he gets what's coming to him in the end, but I'm not going to give away any previews. You're just going to have to keep on reading.

Martrex – The reason why Motoko doesn't lash out is because she is trying to trick Mr. Maehara into going in the wrong direction. She doesn't want to risk blowing her part in the plan by attacking him.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu and Tokyo Pop do.

WARNING: Contains plenty of bad language and brief nudity. Reader discretion is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 8**

**The Pursuit: Part 2**

Meanwhile in the den Motoko, Su, and Sara are looking at each other with smiles. "Now remember you two. You HAVE to keep quite about this ok." says Motoko with a finger up to her lips. "Don't worry Motoko. We'll remember out parts. We're doing this Shinomu after all." says Su oddly toned down. "Good. Now let's just hope that Kitsune and Naru can follow through with their part of the plan." says Motoko.

Meanwhile Mr. Maehara and Shin are running down the long steps back to the car. Mr. Maehara then notices Haruka sweeping the entryway to her teahouse and stops in front of her. "You know this is all your fault you bitch!" says Mr. Maehara in a lot of anger.

Haruka twinges a bit as a blood vessel begins to pump madly in her temple. "Excuse me?" says Haruka trying with all her might not to smash Mr. Maehara's face into the ground for that remark. "It's your fucking fault! You're the one who is supposed to keep that asshole from doing stupid shit like this! You're his aunt after all. He is your responsibility!" shouts Mr. Maehara angrily.

"Now wait one minute you PRICK! I maybe his aunt, but I have a teahouse to run. I can't keep tabs on him every minute of everyday! I'm not his keeper you know! And besides he's an adult. He can make his own decisions. So just fuck off!" shouts Haruka back.

"Pheeh. You're useless. Screw you, you whore!" says Mr. Maehara with anger as he flips off Haruka. "Come on Shin we don't have time to waist." he adds. They both turn around and start running back down the steps. Haruka by now is clinching her broom with anger. Cracking noises can be heard as the bamboo handle begins to give way under her hardening grip. It takes every last ounce of control she has to keep from taking that broom and bashing Mr. Maehara's head in.

Both men reach the car and almost dive into it. Mr. Maehara throws the car into drive and slams the gas petal to the floor. The car's back tires squeal as it peals out and takes off. Naru and Kitsune then jump out of the bushes and into the street. Kitsune bring her fingers up to her lips and gives a shrill whistle.

"OHEY! TAXIIII!" she shouts as she waves down a taxi. The taxi stops in front of them. Naru and Kitsune toss their suitcases into the taxi and then "toss" themselves into the taxi as well. "Where to l-" "FOLLOW THAT CAR!" shouts Kitsune loudly in the driver's ear as she points to the car speeding away from them interrupting him. "I always wanted to say that." she adds as she smiles at Naru. The taxi also peals out as it tries to catch up with Mr. Maehara's car.

Meanwhile back at the mansion Mr. Hibachi is greeting more guests when suddenly his cell phone goes off. "Excuse me please." he says politely to a female guest. They both bow gracefully and he goes off behind a tree to answers his phone. He takes his cell-phone out of his pocket and answers it.

"Hello." he answers. "Dad. It's Shin. Shinobu's run off!" he hears Shin over the phone. "She's what?" shouts Mr. Hibachi in surprise. He looks back up and sees several people looking at him. He smiles a bit embarrassed at them and most of them go back to talking to other people.

"She's what?" he says a little calmer. "Shinobu's run off to Asahikawa. Listen I don't have much time to explain. Mr. Maehara and I are going to go after her and are headed back to the mansion now. We left Mrs. Maehara back at that dorm in case she comes back. But what I really need you to do is have some of the butlers start packing our suitcases so we can quickly leave for the train station to go after them." explains Shin quickly.

Mr. Hibachi waves Kinichi over and orders him to gather a few of the other butlers and start packing quickly. Kinichi bows and runs off back to the mansion. "Ok done. But what should I tell the guests?" asks Mr. Hibachi. "I don't know. Tell them she's sick or something. I'm sorry I got to go. I need to call reserve a couple of seats in 1st class so we can board the train as soon as we get to the station. Bye." says Shin. "Bye." answers Mr. Hibachi.

Mr. Hibachi turns off his phone and begins to rub his head a little trying to think of a good excuse. After about a minute of thinking he walks over to the priest and tells him that the wedding is going to be postponed and he needs to make the announcement. Mr. Hibachi then walks over to the archway and gets up onto the stool.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! May I have your attention please?" he shouts. All the guests in the area quiet down and give him their attention. "I'm sorry but I have a bit of bad news. I'm sorry but the wedding has been put on hold!" he shouts so everyone can hear him. He hears a few people say "What?" and others begin to talk loudly.

"Now please. Quiet down. It appears that Miss Shinobu, the bride, has come down with a bad case of the stomach flu and had been throwing up all morning. She is too sick to make it. So the wedding has been postponed temporarily. Maybe for only a month or so." explains Mr. Hibachi slightly nervous. He goes on to explain that his business will pay for everyone's ticket that has to fly here, the next time they come for the wedding. Everyone seems to understand and begins leaving.

Meanwhile Mr. Maehara power-slides his car onto the Hibachi's driveway and speeds down it. A few seconds later and speeding taxi slams on its brakes and pulls right next to the driveway. "Wow Mr. Driver! You're good at this pursuit thing!" shouts Kitsune with a giant foxy smile. She just loves these kinds of chases. Either that or she's too drunk again to know better.

Naru, who is white-faced and clutching the door handle for dear life after that wild and speedy pursuit, opens the door. "I'll go be look out." she says with a shaky voice. As the door shuts Kitsune turns back to the driver. "Hey! Has anyone told you you're really cute?" she says flirtingly.

Naru stands by the gate entrance watching the driveway for Mr. Maehara's car from behind the gate pillar so she won't be spotted. It doesn't take long until she sees his car come speeding out from around the front of the mansion and down the driveway. She quickly rushes back to the taxi and gets in. "Ok they're coming!" she announces.

Within a few seconds Mr. Maehara's car comes flying out of the driveway and back onto the street, again not checking for traffic. "Ok Mr. Driver you know what to do!" shouts Kitsune. "Yes ma'am!" shouts the driver back seemingly to love this action too. He throws the taxi into drive and he also peals out after Mr. Maehara's car.

A few minutes later Mr. Maehara's car comes speeding into the train station's parking lot. He whips his car into a parking space and shuts it off. Shin and him grab their hastily packed suitcases and get out of the car. They run into the station and go up to the ticket counter.

"Ah good morning Mr. Hibachi." says the lady behind the counter. "Yes I reserved two tickets for 1st class a few minutes ago for the number six train toAsahikawa. We need them now please." orders Shin. "Let's see. Yes here they are, two tickets. Are you sure you don't want to reserve the Green car for you? It would only take about 15 minutes to hook it up." ask the lady.

"Sorry no. We don't have the time. Now if you would please." says Shin quickly with a bit of irritation in his voice. "Of course." answers the lady. She quickly types on the key pad and two tickets are printed out and she hands them to Shin.

Shin takes the tickets but then pulls something out of his pocket. "By the way have you seen these two?" he asks as he shows the lady a picture of Shinobu and one of Keitaro. The lady takes a moment to look them. "I'm sorry no. My shift just started at 9:00 so I've only been here for 10 minutes." answers the young lady.

"Damn." says Shin. "Come on Shin we've got five minutes before the train leaves so we'd better hurry!" orders Mr. Maehara. Shin nods his head and they both run into the train station. They quickly place their tickets into the turn style and they run through right up to the train and get in.

Moments later a speeding taxi power-slides itself up onto the curb in front of the train station making several pedestrians dive for cover. Naru quickly jumps out of the taxi and starts kissing the ground thankful she's still alive. Kitsune excitingly steps out of the taxi and strolls up to the driver's window.

"So cutie how much do we owe ya?" she asks with a sexy tone. "The ride's on me! I've always dreamt of having one of those 'follow that car' chases. Thanks for making that happen!" answers the driver with a wink.

"Oh. But we can't have our brave, courageous, expert driver go away empty handed now can we?" says Kitsune in an even more sexy voice. "I know!" she blurts out again. She then reaches down and grabs the bottom part of her shirt with both hands and quickly lifts it up to her neck grabbing her bra along the way and flashes her big ripe melons in the driver's face.

The driver's nose instantly erupts like Old Faithful blowing out at least 10 pints of blood in one second. After a few seconds; "KITSUNE WILL YOU STOP EXPOSING YOURSELF AND COME ON! THE TRAIN'S ABOUT TO LEAVE!" orders Naru with an urgent frustrated yell.

"Alright! Alright!" says Kitsune as she pulls her shirt back down. "Thanks for all your help! I hope I get to see you again sometime. See you later cutie!" shouts Kitsune as she blows the driver a kiss, turns and runs into the train station leaving the driver in a state of shock.

The driver watches as the two girls run into the train station still with a shocked look on his face with his nose still bleeding a bit. Suddenly something pops into his head. SNAP! "Damnit! I should have gotten her number." he says to himself. "Oh well." he adds. With that he puts the taxi back into drive and pulls away.

Naru and Kitsune run as fast as they can to the turn buckles and quickly slide their tickets in. After they get through they run as if their lives depended on it right up to the same train and almost have to dive in just as the doors are closing.

"Damn that was close!" pants Kitsune. "Yeah! I expected they would hurry to go after Shinobu but not be this determined!" pants Naru. Naru looks back up for a second and spots something. She then quickly grabs Kitsune's arm and pulls her into some seats beside them. Kitsune looks over and sees Naru's slightly panicked face.

"What is it?" asks Kitsune. Naru pokes her head slightly above the seat in front of her. "Four rows up, right side of the train." she answers. Kitsune also pokes her head up a bit to take a look. There, where Naru said to look, is Mr. Maehara, still looking pissed as hell, and Shin who looks scarily calm.

"Do you think they saw or heard us?" asks Kitsune. "I don't think so. If they had you know Mr. Maehara would be yelling and cussing us out right about now." answers Naru. "Good point." says Kitsune as the train begins to pull away from the station.

A few minutes go by when Naru suddenly remembers something. "Say Kitsune. I've been wondering. Uh…. Where did you get all the money for the tickets and stuff? Especially these 1st class tickets?" asks Naru. Kitsune gets a slightly surprised look on her face. "Uh… You really don't want to know." answers Kitsune.

Naru looks back at Kitsune with a mixed look of surprise, confusion, and disgust. Naru begins to blush a bit but leans back into her seat still trying to comprehend what Kitsune ACTUALLY meant. "Whew. Dodged a bullet there. If I had told her that I actually WORKED hard on writing a few news articles to earn this money she'd never let me hear the end of it." thinks Kitsune to herself.

(o)

It's been four hours since the Maeharas found out about Shinobu's escape. At Hinata Sou the last three remaining residents have just settled down after lunch. Mrs. Maehara, who has been spending the day walking around Hinata Sou for a while to try to blow off some steam, is walking back down the hallway from Shinobu's room when she hears Motoko, Su, and Sara talking to each other from the living room.

"Gezz Motoko! You can fix decent food but you never fix enough of it. I'm still hungry!" complains Sara loudly. "Yeah I wish Shinobu was back already with Keitaro!" shouts Su complainingly. Instinctively Mrs. Maehara quickly presses herself against the wall and silently pears her ear around the corner to listen in on the girls' conversation.

"Oh stop complaining you two. I fix just the right amount of food people of your age and size should healthily eat in one meal." says Motoko. "But Shinobu always fixed enough for at least two servings! We'll starve before she gets back!" complains Su.

"You know you guys depend too much on Shinobu. You both know she has it hard enough with her parents trying to force her to get married without even considering her feelings. She needed this so she could get out of all that. So you guys will just have to toughen up a bit through this ok." explains Motoko.

"Bitch! It's because you freaks have corrupted my sweet Shinobu and we're trying to save her from you. You people have made her so resentful toward us that the only way we can prevent you people from doing more harm is to marry her to a nice young man like Shin! So don't you go saying that we don't care!" shouts Mrs. Maehara selfishly in her head with a very angered look.

Su and Sara lower their heads a little. "Yeah your right." says Sara. "Sorry Motoko. I didn't think of Shinomu's feelings. I'm just glad we were able to throw her parents and Shin off her trail for her to escape successfully. But I still think you should cook more food!" says Su with another big smile.

Mrs. Maehara can't believe her ears. "What the Fuck! They threw us off her trail? Ahhh! Fuck them to hell!" she shouts in her head again. With that Mrs. Maehara runs back to Shinobu's room and throws open the door. "Alright Shinobu! Where the fuck have you gone!" she shouts in her head as she begins to search her room.

Mrs. Maehara begins to tare Shinobu's room apart to try to find any clue of where Shinobu has really gone. She dumps everything out of Shinobu's desk and cloths drawers, empties out her closet, and searches all through her cloths. "Damnit! Nothing!" says Mrs. Maehara with frustration. She then looks over and suddenly sees Shinobu's waste basket with a lone crumpled up paper inside.

She goes over and takes out the paper and un-crumples it. She sees that what ever was written on it was marked out with a pen, but not very well so she can still make out what is written. She then reads what is on the paper.

_"Dear Mom and dad. By the time you read this I will be gone. I can't stand being around you and the Hibachis anymore. I have run off with Urishima Sempai to Kyoto to esc-"_

The note stops there.

Mrs. Maehara stands there for a second as the information processes through her head. "KYOTO?" she screams in her head. "She's run off with that fucking idiot to Kyoto? Damn you Shinobu! How dare you try to pull a fast one on us! You'll pay for this Shinobu! Oh you'll pay dearly! I'd better call the guys and tell them about this." she says to herself. Mrs. Maehara pulls out her cell-phone from her dress pocket and hits the speed-dial for Mr. Maehara's phone.

"Sorry Shinobu. But your little vacation is going to be cut short!" she adds as she puts the phone up to her ear.

(o)

The train has just left the Morioka station about 5 minutes ago. Kitsune is on Naru's shoulder taking a little nap while Naru is reading a small travel book about Asahikawa to help her get familiar with the city before they arrive. Suddenly someone's cell-phone starts to ring. Naru looks up slightly from her book to see whose it is.

To her surprise it's Mr. Maehara's phone going off. Mr. Maehara reaches into his pocket and takes out his cell-phone. He flips it open, pushes a button on it, and brings it up to his ear. "Hello. Maehara speaking." he answers calmly.

Naru watches cautiously as he listens into his phone. Suddenly; "SHE'S DONE WHAT?" he screams out loud making everyone on the train look right at him and snapping Kitsune out of her nap. Naru's face turns to one of dread.

"KYOTO! SHE'S GONE TO KYOTO?" he shouts into his phone angrily again. At that moment only one thing registers in Naru's head. "…..SU!" Naru snaps back into reality when Mr. Maehara begins to shout again.

"Oh you'd better believe she's even more in a shit load of trouble now!... Yes we're going to go back for her right away even if I have to push this train around myself! ...No you stay there. We'll handle this. Thanks for finding this out. She'll wish she'd never left after we catch up to her!... Bye." With that Mr. Maehara hangs up his cell-phone.

Just as he is putting the phone back into his pocket a scrawny steward approaches him. "Excuse me sir but is there something wrong?" he asks calmly. "Stop this train now! We have to get back to Tokyo NOW!" demands Mr. Maehara loudly. "I'm sorry sir but we can't do that." answers the steward calmly.

Mr. Maehara quickly stands up and grabs the steward by his shirt with both hands and pulls him toward himself. "Listen You! I have no time for your shit! What the fuck do you mean you can't turn us around!" demands Mr. Maehara with a VERY pissed off look.

"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry sir! But this train is on a schedule! We just can't turn this train around just because you want it to. We have dozens of other passengers on this train that need to go this way!" stutters the steward with a panicked look on his face. Mr. Maehara grits his teeth in anger making them squeak as they rub together.

"Then where the hell is the next stop?" demands Mr. Maehara. The next stop is an hour away in Hirosaki. But I'm afraid it won't do you much good either." babbles the steward. "What the fuck do you mean?" asks Mr. Maehara getting more annoyed.

"Well sir. The next train bound for Tokyo isn't scheduled until 9:00 this evening." explains the panicked steward. "WHAT?" shouts Mr. Maehara. "I'm sorry sir but there is nothing I can do about it!" blurts out the steward. Mr. Maehara sighs in anger and tosses the steward back a little and then sits back down with a look of frustration.

Mr. Maehara slams his fist into the arm of his seat with a loud thud. "God damn that little bitch!" she shouts. "Please Mr. Maehara we need to stay calm in a time like this. The last thing we need to happen is for you to be arrested or detained because you tried to hurt someone in your anger. Right now we need to plan out what we're going to do. I'll go ahead and call ahead to reserve the green car in Hirosaki. Meanwhile just calm down a little." explains Shin.

Mr. Maehara takes a deep breath to calm down a little. "You're right Shin. I need to calm down. Thanks for talking some since into me before I did something stupid." says Mr. Maehara. He then looks back up at the steward. "Listen pal. I'm… I'm sorry for losing my temper. I should have never taken it out on you like that. You mind bringing me a small bottle of sake please. Your strongest if you don't mind. I need something to help calm my nerves." says Mr. Maehara.

"Oh course sir. And don't worry about it. I've seen passengers act a lot worse than that." says the steward. He then bows and turns to go get the sake.

Meanwhile Shin is thinking silently to himself. "How dare you Shinobu! How dare you run away from me and then trick us like this! I'm going to have to teach you lesson once where married that NOONE, especially you, ever runs away from me! Once we're married I'll be sure to make it to where you'll NEVER even have the chance to run away ever again!" thinks Shin evilly to himself. He then reaches for his cell-phone to dial the number for the Hirosaki station.

Meanwhile Naru has already grabbed her cell-phone and is quickly dialing a number. "Who you calling?" asks Kitsune. "I'm calling Keitaro to tell him that the plan's been blown. I'm going to tell him to grab Shinobu and get the hell out of Kyoto and go on ahead to Okinawa and elope with her there." explains Naru as she brings her cell-phone up to her ear.

She waits a few seconds until she hears a ringing… then. _"We're sorry but the number you have dialing is temporarily out of service. Please hang up and try your call again later. This is a recording"_ Beep. "Argh! That idiot!" shouts Naru silently.

"What is it?" asks Kitsune. "That idiot! He's forgotten to turn on his cell-phone!" shouts Naru silently again. "What? Didn't you remind him to keep it on before they left?" asks Kitsune. "Ah crap! In all the rush I must have forgot!" says Naru with disbelief.

"Well I'm sure he knows he has to have it on today. He probably has it off for the train ride to save the battery power." says Kitsune. "I sure hope you're right! I'll try him again when we reach Hirosaki station. They should be in Kyoto by then." hopes Naru.

(o)

Keitaro's watch alarm goes off stirring him out of his little cat nap. He quickly turns it off and looks at the time. "15 after one." he says to himself. He looks back down at a still sleeping Shinobu on his lap. She's been sleeping for most of the trip except when they had to switch trains in Nara.

"What a way to spend a birthday. Sleeping!" she chuckles to himself. Suddenly the conductor comes on the train's com. "Ladies and Gentlemen. We are 15 minutes out from Kyoto. Please start to gather your things and make your way back your assigned seats so we can make your disembarking smooth and quick. Thank you." he then cuts off the com.

Keitaro takes a look out the window. He can already see they are going through some of the outlying towns and suburbs of Kyoto and in the distance he can just make out a few of the skyscrapers of Kyoto. "We're almost there Shinobu." he says to himself with a smile.

End of Chapter 8

To be continued in Chapter 9- The Arrival

Author Note. Part's 1 and 2 were actually meant to be one chapter. But it got so long I had to split it into two shorter chapters. Again I'm sorry for the two month delay in getting these chapters up. But college life is getting harder and I'm having to spend more and more of my free time studying and working on my projects. But since the Christmas brake is now here I'll be able to work on my fanfics some more. Also I want to see if this can become my 1st 100+ reviewed story! Tell your friends to read and review also! See you next chapter!

Story Note: We finally get back to Shinobu and Keitaro in Chapter 9! Hurray! Chapter 9 will mostly be about getting around in Kyoto and preparing for the eloping. So nothing too exciting in the next chapter. But I still hope you all will read it. Morioka and Hirosaki are two cities in northern Honshu (The large island of Japan) They are usually the last two trains stops for people before heading over the "Tsugaru-kaikyo", which is the body of water separating Honshu from Hokkaido. Hirosaki being the last one. Also sorry for the large amount of fowl language. But I really needed to convey how pissed off the Maeharas were. Also a "Green car" is like a rentable private jet for trains. Usually rich people are only able to afford them.


	9. The Arrival

AzureSky123: I can understand your confusion. The note was meant to throw Shinobu's parents off her trail. You see Shinobu's parents right now don't think Shinobu is cleaver enough to trick them. They think she is too honest and would never think of doing something like this. Shinobu took that into account so when she wrote the note saying that she went to Asahikawa, they believed it. When they found out that she had tricked them they got totally pissed. Just keep reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Ken Akamatsu and Tokyo pop do.

WARNING: Contains adult situations and some bad language. Reader desecration is advised.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 9**

**The Arrival**

1:30 pm on November 15th, Shinobu's 16th birthday. Shinobu and Keitaro's train pulls into the main concourse of Kyoto Station right on schedule. The train pulls up to the platform and opens its doors. After a few seconds Shinobu and Keitaro finally make their way out of the train.

Shinobu takes a few steps before giving a big yawn and a stretch. "You feeling better Shinobu?" asks Keitaro from behind. Shinobu twirls around with a big smile on her face. "Uh-huh! Much better! That nap and Aspirin I took on the train did the trick! My headache is gone!" she answers happily. "Well I'm glad to hear that." answers Keitaro.

The two walk around for a minute or two and Shinobu is just amazed at the sheer size of the station. "Wow….. I had heard about how big the Kyoto station was… but it's a lot bigger than I imagined it would be." says Shinobu with amazement.

Keitaro looks around a bit and seems to lose himself a bit. "Heh…This makes my third time…." he says spaced out. "What did you say Sempai?" asks Shinobu. Keitaro snaps out of his stare. "Oh…. I was just thinking. This makes my third time I've come through this very station." he answers.

"Really?" asks Shinobu. "Yeah. The first time was when I came here with Naru, whether I knew it or not, on our sad vacation after failing the Toudai exams. This is also where we met Mutsumi." says Keitaro. "Yeah I remember that one. All the rest of us thought the both of you were going to elope together and then kill yourselves out of grief! Ha ha ha!" giggles Shinobu.

"Yeah you guys sure jumped to a ridiculous conclusion! Ha ha ha!" says Keitaro as he also lets out a small laugh. "But what was really outlandish was that somehow Kitsune had convinced Motoko that I was coming after you to kill the both of you because you had 'betrayed my love for you!' Ha ha ha!" says Shinobu as she continues to giggle.

"Really? No one ever told me that one! Man Kitsune can sure come up with some wild ones can't she! Ha ha ha!" says Keitaro with another laugh. "She sure can!" answers Shinobu.

"The second time I came here was when I came to Kyoto with Motoko to fight her sister and win, or else she was going to force me to marry Motoko. Ha ha ha! The ironic thing was that it was Naru who took out Tsuruko when she got possessed by the Hinata Blade and then Motoko had to use me as sort of a shield to distract Naru long enough so she could take out the Hinata blade herself. Ha ha ha! It's funny now that I think about it!" explains Keitaro while laughing.

"Yeah I remember that fiasco! That was when Motoko tried her best to act like a girl but WAY overdid it. Once when she said she was going to go wash cloths she went as far as to try and take off the panties I still had on to wash also! It took all my strength just to keep her from yanking them off! Ha ha ha!" says Shinobu while laughing.

Suddenly she stops laughing realizing what she just said. She looks up at Keitaro and they both blush brightly at each other. But after a second or two they can't hold it and burst out laughing again. (Right at that very moment at Hinata Sou, Motoko sneezes)

The two of them laugh for a few more seconds before, GGGRRRRRROOOOOWWWLLLLL! The two of them stop laughing and look at each other with embarrassed looks. GGRROOWWLLL! Shinobu places her hands over her stomach.

"Heh heh heh. I guess I'm hungry." she says blushing. GGGRROOWLLL! Keitaro places his hands over his stomach. "I guess I am too." he says also while blushing. "Well no wonder. We haven't eaten since early this morning and all we had were some bacon and eggs." says Shinobu.

"Well the food court is on the second level. We can get something there." suggests Keitaro. "That's sounds fine with me." answers Shinobu. And with that Keitaro and Shinobu head up to the second level to get something to eat.

(o)

It's now about 2:15 when Keitaro and Shinobu finally make there way up to the surface. "Wow……!" Shinobu says amazed again as she steps out onto the streets of downtown Kyoto. She looks around at all the tall skyscrapers surrounding her and Kyoto Tower right in front of them.

"Yeah this place is pretty amazing." says Keitaro with a bit of a smirk. "And big too! Not quit as big as Tokyo, but still pretty big." answers Shinobu. Shinobu looks around a bit more noticing all the older buildings, at least 100+ years old, mixed among the newer taller modern buildings. "I can see why this place use to be Japan's old capital" she adds.

After about a minute of admiring the scenery Keitaro speaks up. "So Shinobu, what do you want to do first?" he asks. "Huh?" Shinobu asks as she looks back at Keitaro with a puzzled look. "Well we have a couple of hours to kill along the way to the City Hall to get the marriage license. We might as well do something." explains Keitaro.

Shinobu puts her finger up to her chin and looks up slightly to think for a moment. "Well…..I guess we could buy everyone and ourselves a few souvenirs." says Shinobu. "Hmm that sounds good. Especially since neither me nor Naru bought any of you guys anything while we were here. And I know the perfect place." answers Keitaro.

Keitaro then holds out his left arm to Shinobu. "Well. Shall we go Shinobu?" he asks kindly. Shinobu gladly takes his arm with a big smile. "Let's!" she says excitingly. They walk about a half a block before turning left up Kawabamachi Dori Street which parallels the Kamo-gawa River.

They walk for about another block before Keitaro recognizes the area they are in and starts to look back and forth to look for something. "Hmmm now let's see…. I know it was around here somewhere….hmmm….AH! There it is!" he announces as he points to a street side trinket shop.

Shinobu looks over and sees all the little items and kick-knacks inside. "That looks like a great place. But how do you know of this place anyway?" she asks curiously. "Well after Naru and I got off the train we decided to look around Kyoto for a while and we happened to come across this store. They do have a nice selection of souvenirs…. although last time they all looked like a blur to me." explains Keitaro.

"Ok." answers Shinobu. Shinobu and Keitaro then both head inside and begin to look around. Inside there are a lot of key chains of different designs and sizes, a bunch of shirts with different phrases and pictures, even electronic accessories, and other assorted stuff.

It takes them a little while but finally find something for everyone. They choose a large beer mug for Kitsune that reads "The sexiest girls are the drunken girls", a headband for Motoko that just says "Samurai" on it, a key chain for Sara that says "Daddy's little girl", a pair of slick sunglasses for Naru, a portable gold plated ashtray for Haruka, a watermelon shaped handbag for Mutsumi, a little spy camera for Su, and a pack of special Kyoto turtle snack food for Tama-chan.

Keitaro and Shinobu decide to get each other something too. Shinobu gets Keitaro and small travel barber kit; while Keitaro gets Shinobu a beautiful engraved gold locket/necklace. Shinobu rewards him with an excited glomp.

As Shinobu and Keitaro begin to gather the souvenirs together, Keitaro looks over and spots something familiar and a grin comes on his face. It's the old photo booth he and Naru had their picture taken in… his very first with a girl. He looks back at Shinobu to think for a second and decides to go for it.

"Hey um… Shinobu." he says. Shinobu looks back to him. "Um… would you like to take a picture with me? After all since we are going to be getting married I thought it would be a nice little memento to remember it by." asks Keitaro as he gestures over to the photo both. Shinobu looks over at the photo both and gives a very big smile. Knowing his fondness for collecting photo stickers she happily agrees. "I'd love to Sempai!" answers Shinobu eagerly.

They quickly run over to the both and go behind the curtain. Keitaro puts a few yen into the slot and the photo both screen turns on. "Hey Shinobu. How about you pick the photo frame." says Keitaro. "Really?" asks Shinobu out of surprise. "Sure go ahead I insist!" replies Keitaro.

"Ok! I'm going to pick a good one!" says Shinobu excitingly. Shinobu cycles through the different frames on the menu screen until she comes across one with a large heart in the middle with two little cupids on either side of the heart. "How's this one?" she asks. "That IS a good one." answers Keitaro.

Shinobu pushes the button to select the frame and the timer begins to run. Since there are four pictures taken they both decide to do a different pose for each shot. For the first shot they decide on the typical "just sit side by side and face the camera" pose. For the second pose Shinobu holds onto Keitaro's arm and lays her head on his shoulder, making them both blush just a little. For the third shot they decide to goof around a bit and make faces. Shinobu crosses her eyes, pulls her cheeks out a bit and sticks out her tongue; while Keitaro pulls the sides of his eyes flat and somehow makes himself look like a Buddhist monk. But for the final shot Shinobu totally surprises Keitaro by coming up and giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

Keitaro still has a deep blush on his face even after they come out of the booth and even after the picture sheet gets printed out. Shinobu gives a small giggle and looks back up at Keitaro. "Thank you sempai for letting me take a picture with you. I will always treasure these pictures." she says with a big loving smile. Keitaro can't help but blush a bit more.

After splitting the picture sheet evenly, Shinobu and Keitaro take the souvenirs up to the cheek out counter and begin to buy them. The old clerk, who also is the owner of the store, gives the young couple of friendly grin as he begins to add up the price on his old used cash register.

"Let's see that comes up to…..the clerk pulls the cash register's handle… 5500 yen (about $47)." says the old clerk. As the old clerk takes the money from Keitaro he looks down and notices something on the back of Shinobu's Bunny pack.

"Excuse me miss." he says. Shinobu looks up at him. "Excuse me but I noticed you have a Tako-Tako on your pack." says the old clerk. "A What?" Shinobu asks curiously. "A Tako-Tako. That weird octopus doll you have." answers the old clerk.

Shinobu reaches around and grabs her octopus doll. "You mean this?" she asks. "Yes. That's a Tako-Tako. And if I'm not mistaken that's the father version." answers the old clerk. Shinobu still looks at him with a bit of confusion.

"I guess you really don't know about them, well here let me explain. You see Tako-Tako's are rare collectable dolls. There are four basic dolls that can only be found in different parts of Japan. My guess is that you got yours somewhere around the Tokyo area am I right?" asks the old clerk.

"Yes I did! Sempai here actually won it for me at a shooting booth at a festival." answers Shinobu. The old clerk turns to Keitaro. "My friend you have good aim then!" says the old clerk with a slight laugh. "Actually I have lousy aim…I was actually aiming for a cat doll and missed and hit that." answers Keitaro as he points to the Tako-Tako.

"Well however you got it you're sure lucky to have gotten one. They're very hard to find these days. If you'd like I can tell you all about them." says the old clerk to Shinobu. "Sure go ahead! I love collecting stuffed dolls." answers Shinobu with a smile.

Suddenly Keitaro lays his hand on Shinobu's shoulder and she looks back at him quickly. "Um Shinobu I'm going to go look in one of the other stores nearby, you can stay here and talk with the clerk about those dolls. When you're done just wait for me outside this store ok?" explains Keitaro. "Um…o..k." answers Shinobu slightly confused.

With that Keitaro walks out of the store with the souvenir bags in hand. Shinobu watches him leave the store still with a slight look of confusion on her face. "Uh miss are you ok?" asks the old clerk. "….Uh… yeah." answers Shinobu as she slowly turns her head back around.

"So about these dolls?" she asks curiously. "Of course. You see the Tako-Tako dolls are a special edition collector's set. There are four in all. The Father, Mother, the son, and the daughter dolls. But the thing is each one of them can only be found in a certain part of Japan." explains the old clerk.

"Really?" asks Shinobu curiously. "Yep. That's why they're so hard to get! Let's see. The Father Tako-Tako is found in the mid-section of Japan; mostly around the Tokyo area, where you got yours. The Mother Taku-Taku is found in this area of Japan around the Kyoto, Nara, Osaka regions. The Son Tako-Tako is mostly found in the Northern parts of Japan; mostly in the Sapporo region in Hokkaido. And finally the Daughter Tako-Tako can be found in the southern parts of Japan; mostly on the Kyushu Island around Nagasaki and the smaller southern islands." explains the old clerk some more.

"Wow. That's sounds so cool! I never knew my doll here was part of a rare collector's series." says Shinobu and she looks at her Tako-Tako doll. "Yeah. You were sure lucky to get one of them, and for a low cost at that." says the old clerk.

Shinobu keeps staring at her Tako-Tako. "…..I wonder if it was fate that made Sempai win this for me…..?" says Shinobu to herself. "What did you say miss?" asks the old clerk. Shinobu snaps out of her stare. "Oh um…nothing!" she says in a bit of an embarrassed panic.

"I was just wondering, you said that one of the other Tako-Tako dolls can be found around here right?" asks Shinobu. "Yes. The Mother version Tako-Tako." answers the old clerk. "Well you seem to know a lot about them. Do you know where I can find one?" asks Shinobu.

The old clerk gives sweet grin. "Why of course! Right here!" he answers. "Really?" says Shinobu with surprise. "Yep! It just so happens I have two of them here." says the old clerk as he reaches under the counter. He stands back up and sets something on the counter.

Shinobu looks at it and sees that it's another Tako-Tako doll. Except this one is pink and has gentler looking eyes with LONG eye lashes. "Wow it's so cute!" says Shinobu sweetly. "Now I must tell you they are a bit on the pricy side, but I do offer them at a fairly decent discount. Do you want it?" asks the old clerk. "Yes! Please!" answers Shinobu. She wasn't going to give up such a rare offer.

She hands the yen over and then gives the Mother Tako-Tako a hug when the old clerk hands it to her. Shinobu bows and then begins to leave. "Now you take care of both of them! A replacement is extremely hard to find!" calls out the old clerk. "Thanks again! I'm going to see if I can't collect the others now!" says Shinobu back.

"Ok good luck with that!" calls out the clerk just as Shinobu is about to walk out the door. "Thank you!" says Shinobu back as she turns around and bows to the old clerk again. She then turns back around and walks out of the store. Shinobu walks a little before she leans up against the wall beside the store.

She begins looking over the newest doll she has just bought with a happy smile on her face. She stays that way lost in her thoughts when she suddenly notices that three young guys have approached her. "Excuse us Miss." says the boy in the center.

Shinobu looks up quickly after snapping out of her world. "Yes?" she answers tentatively. She looks at them and sees that they are about her age, maybe a year older or so. "Wow you really are a cutie! We were just wondering if you would like to join us for a few rounds of Karaoke? We know this great place just down the street here. So what do you say? Our treat." asks the boy in the center.

Shinobu suddenly gets a slight look of panic on her face as she begins to blush heavily. "Oh my God! Have… have I just been asked out?" she says to herself in total surprise. She looks down and begins to fidget nervously. Having really never been in this situation before she's too stunned to think of a response.

"So what do yah say cutie? Come on well have a great time I know it!" says the boy in the middle as the other two boys nod their heads. Shinobu begins to fidget some more. She brings her hand up to her chin as she looks slightly down. "….Well…….um……" she begins to stutter.

Meanwhile, while Shinobu had been talking with the old clerk, Keitaro had made his way a couple of stores down to a mid-sized store. He looks up at the name of the store. "Hamura Jewelry. Yep this is the place." he says to himself. And with that he opens the door and heads on in.

As he opens the door a small electronic doorbell goes off in the back of the store. He looks around for a second at the store. This store is mostly catered to all sorts of different jewelry. On one wall alone there has to be at least 200 or more different designs, sizes, and fashions of earrings. On the right side of the store is a large, long, glass display case with just about as many designs, sizes, and fashions of regular rings as there are earrings.

He looks around some more and sees different types of bracelets ; for both arms and legs, different hair scrunches and clips with decorative jewels in them, some expensive jewelry incrusted purses, lapel pins and buttons, some shoe accessories, and even some toe ring styles. "Yup…defenatly a girl's shop…." says Keitaro to himself.

"Oh. Good afternoon sir! Is there anything I can help you with today?" asks a young woman with short black hair as she walks out from a small room in the back of the store. "Yes. A couple of days ago I ordered a couple of rings to be made. I'm here to pick them up." answers Keitaro as the young lady walks around to the back of the large glass case.

"Ok sir. Just let me cheek the list." says the young lady as she reaches behind the counter and brings out a clipboard. "Ok. Last name please." she asks. "Urashima." answers Keitaro. The young lady flips a couple of sheets over on the clipboard and then runs a pen down the name list.

"Ok. Ring sizes?" asks the young lady. "I believe it was a woman's size four and a men's size 7 ½." answers Keitaro. "Ok let's see…Let's see…. Ah here it is! Urashima." says the young lady as she scrolls down the page with the pen and finds Keitaro's order. "You're in luck! They just arrived this morning." says the young lady.

The young lady then squats down opens a small sliding cubby door at the bottom of the glass case. She stands back up and hands a small ring case to him. Keitaro takes the case and opens it up. Inside is a plain gold men's ring. But behind it is a smaller golden ring that matches the engagement ring Shinobu has. Keitaro gives a small smile as he sees the two new shinny rings.

"So… Who's the lucky lady?" ask the young lady with a smirk. "Oh friend of mine who I proposed to a few weeks ago. Let's just say her parents were giving her a tough time." says Keitaro with an embarrassed, blushing grin. "Well she's a lucky woman to have someone like you around then. I'm sure you two will make a wonderful husband and wife." answers the young lady with a lovely smile.

Keitaro blushes a bit more. "Uh… T-Thanks. So… um… how much are the rings?" he asks embarrassingly. The young lady looks back at the clipboard. "Let's see they both come out to about…. 23,000 yen. (about $200)" says the young lady.

Keitaro grimaces at the price but expected a price like that. He reaches around and gets out his wallet. He counts out the money and hands it over to the young lady. The young lady gives another friendly smile. "Thank you! Please shop with us again sometime! And good luck!" says the young lady as she bows.

Keitaro bows back. "Thank you very much. I hope you have a very nice day too." he says courteously. And with that he stuffs the ring case into his back pocket, picks up the souvenir bags and then walks out of the store with a slight grin on his face. "Man Shinobu sure is going to be surprised when I give THIS to her. Of course it will be hers to keep even after the divorce." says Keitaro to himself. He feels a sharp sadness as he said that but shakes it off. With that he turns down the street and begins walking back to the souvenir shop he left Shinobu at.

When he starts to approach the store he is surprised to see Shinobu backed up against the wall with three taller guys around her seemingly to be harassing her. Keitaro then quickens his pace to reach her. As he gets closer he can hear them talking to Shinobu.

"Oh come on cutie! It will be fun! I said it would be our treat." says the tall boy in the middle. "And I said no. I'm waiting for someone." says Shinobu back sternly but with a bit of concern in her voice. "Oh come on. I'm sure the person can wait a little while, while we have some fun!" says the boy to her right.

"I sad No!" repeats Shinobu. "Oh come on now stop being so stub-" "Um Shinobu what's going on here?" says Keitaro interrupting the first boy mid sentence as he walks up. All four of them look over and see Keitaro reach the group. Shinobu immediately goes over and grabs his right arm.

"Kei-kun these three won't leave me alone." says Shinobu complainingly as she looks back at the three boys. Keitaro looks back at Shinobu for a second startled that she actually called him Kei-kun.

"Oh so you mean this wimpy looking nerd is your boyfriend?" says the boy in the middle. "Come on Cutie. Dump this scrawny lameass and come with us! We'll show you a how to have a great time here in Kyoto!" says the second boy. The third boy nods his head in agreement.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Shinobu snaps at them. The three boys snap back a bit. Shinobu lifts her left hand up to the side of her head to reveal the ring on her finger. "He's my fiancée." she adds smugly.

The three boys open their eyes in shock and take a slight step back. "Oh…um…..W-We're sorry… we… we had no idea." the first boy stutters out. The three boys then bow quickly and quickly start walking down the street a little upset at themselves.

As she watches the three boys run off Shinobu breaths a sigh if relief. "You ok Shinobu?" asks Keitaro concerning. "Yes I'm fine Sempai. Thanks for getting here when you did though." says Shinobu with relief.

After a brief moment Keitaro speaks back up. "Well shall we get going?" he asks. "Sure… Oh wait I almost forgot!" says Shinobu. Keitaro looks back to see Shinobu reach back and grab something off of her bunny pack and then bring it around to show him. "Here!" she says happily.

Keitaro looks down at the thing just a few inched away from his face. He sees that it's one of those Tako-Tako dolls the old clerk had been talking about. It looks a lot like the blue one she already has but this on is pink! "Wow… Isn't this one of those 'Tako-Tako' dolls the old clerk was talking about? And it's pink one too." says Keitaro.

"Yes it is! He told me that there are four different ones and they are found in different parts of Japan. The one you won me back in Hinata Town was the father Tako-Tako. It can only be found in the Mid-section of Japan, mainly around the Tokyo area. This one I just bought is the mother Taku-Taku. It can only be found in this area of Japan. Mainly around the Kyoto, Osaka, Nara regions." explains Shinobu.

"Wow that does sound like a cool collector's series." says Keitaro. "Here I want you to have it." says Shinobu as he tries to hand over the mother Tako-Tako. "W-Who me?" asks Keitaro stunned and pointing to himself.

"Yes. Since you got me the Father version in Tokyo I thought it would be nice to let you have this one." explains Shinobu with a grin. "Well I uh….um….I don't know…." stutters Keitaro.

Shinobu sees his perplexed look and then looks away sadly. "You… don't want it do you." says Shinobu sadly. "Well… It's not like I don't want it! It's just… well…. I've never had a girl to give me a doll before….I've always been the one to give one. To Naru, my sister Kanoko, and one to you, but never one given to me before." explains Keitaro sheepishly.

Shinobu giggles. "Ha ha ha! Oh! I see. But it's ok. Here!" she says handing him the Mother Taku-Taku again. "Um… are you sure? You did buy it to add you your collection." says Keitaro embarrassingly. "Sure! I insist. I want you to have it!" answers Shinobu with a big smile.

Keitaro takes the doll. "Well…ok….thanks..." he says still not knowing exactly what to do. He takes the doll and looks at its goofy face for a second. He then looks back to Shinobu and gives her a loving smile. "Thanks Shinobu. I'll take good care of it." he says. Shinobu give him a glomp. "Thanks Sempai. I'm so glad you like it!" she says happily.

Keitaro puts the Mother Tako-Tako in right pants' pocket and then holds his arm back out to Shinobu. "Shall we continue on now Shinobu?" he asks kindly with a smile. Shinobu once again grabs his arm. "Yes!" she says with a big grin on her face. The both of them then continue down Kawabamachi Dori Street to City Hall.

(o)

It's not going on 5:00 pm. Keitaro and Shinobu have managed to kill a couple of more hours by stopping in a few more souvenir shops and a couple of other stores, but they don't buy anything. They had stopped by a vender to have one of Kyoto's famous Meat buns before heading back on their way. They also stopped a few times to have their picture taken along the River front.

Keitaro and Shinobu finally reach Kyoto's City Hall. They both look up at it. "Wow…. It's kind of big." comments Shinobu. Keitaro gives a gulp. "Well Shinobu you ready? This is your last chance to back out." explains Keitaro. Shinobu takes a deep breath and then takes a hold of Keitaro's hand and looks up at him. "I'm ready Sempai. Let's do this!" she says encouragingly.

Keitaro smiles back at her and nods his head. With that they both cross the street to Kyoto's City hall hand in hand.

End of Chapter 9

To Be Continued in Chapter 10: The Wedding!

Author Note: PLEASE FORGIVE ME! I'm sorry it took SOOO long to get this next chapter up. My college life has been getting busier, and busier. Even if I have only 3 classes they require to so much time and effort it's tough to find time to write my fanfics. And what's worse is that I'm going to be adding a 4th class come March and that is going to leave literally NO time for my fanfics. So I probably won't get to the wedding chapter till AFTER the semester ends in May! I might find a couple of minutes to work on it but it won't be enough to finish the next Chapter. Right now I'm going to concentrate on getting the next Chapter of my Negima fanfic "Deadly Lessons" up before March. I should also let you know that I have also joined a FLASH studio and have started on a flash anime series with them. I'll have updates about that in other chapters. This will also occupy a lot of my time.

Story Note: THAT'S RIGHT AT LAST THE WEDDING IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! But it's not going to be as easy as you think it's going to be! I'm sorry if this chapter seemed to be a bit boring but trust me it is important. You'll find out in later chapters.

Translation Note: The Tako-Tako actually has an interesting fact to this. The 1st 4 letters in the Japanese word for "octopus" is "tako." While also the Japanese word for "alien" is also "tako." So all I did was combine the two words to make the word Tako-Tako. Which actually makes a lot of since, since Shinobu's doll looks like an alien octopus. :-P


	10. The Wedding!

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina. Tokyo Pop and Ken Akamatsu do.

No warning for this chapter. except maybe for an overdose of WAFF.

**ELOPE A DOPE**

**Chapter 10**

**The Wedding!**

November 15th, just a little after 5:25 pm. The sky is clear with just a couple of puffy clouds here and there as the sun begins setting in the east. We find Keitaro and Shinobu walking back down Kawaramachi Dori street once again, but this time they both look a little down.

Shinobu is walking a little bit behind Keitaro looking very depressed when she let's out a loud sigh. Keitaro looks back slightly and sees Shinobu looking halfway down at the ground and halfway at herself in the reflection of the store windows as they go by. He feels a slight twinge in his heart when he sees her sad expression.

"Come on now Shinobu cheer up." he says calmly. He sees her eyes begin to whelp up with tears. "…. How can I possibly cheer up?" sniff "We can't get married now. Remember what the receptionist said." says Shinobu about to cry.

Keitaro thinks back to just a little while ago when they were in the City Hall.

Keitaro and Shinobu walk into the Kyoto City hall and up to the receptionist desk. "Um... Excuse me ma'am, but where do we go to get a marriage license?" asks Keitaro. The receptionist looks up at the couple. She points and directs them down the hallway to the second door on the right. Shinobu and Keitaro both thank her and enter the room.

Keitaro and Shinobu walk up to the front desk of the room. "Excuse me. But we're here to get a marriage license." says Keitaro. The middle aged receptionist looks up from her work. She gives an awkward look at Shinobu. Shinobu knows exactly what she's thinking.

"Oh don't worry! Today's my 16th birthday!" says Shinobu with a smile. The receptionist lifts an eyebrow. "A little egger aren't we?" says the receptionist with a smirk. "Ok I just need you two to fill out these forms." she says as she hands them both a clip board with a few papers on them and a pen. Shinobu and Keitaro sit in some chairs and begin to fill out the forms.

It doesn't take them both long to fill out all the necessary information. They both walk back up to the receptionist and had over the forms. Within a few minutes the receptionist has typed up and printed out an official marriage license for the both of them. "Ok there you go, now if you'll just come back in a week we can have one of the judges to sign this and officially marry you two." says the receptionist.

Keitaro and Shinobu open their eyes in shock. "Uh what? Wait. We need to have this done today." says Keitaro a little shocked and with a bit of urgency in his voice. "I'm sorry sir but Judge Shino is on vacation and Judge Muritaki is out sick and neither will be back until next week." says the receptionist. Shinobu and Keitaro look stunned again. "I'm very sorry." says the receptionist again.

"Sempai what do we do now?" says Shinobu in a very sad voice with tears beginning to whelp up in her eyes. All Keitaro can do is lower his head a bit with an expression of pain on his face. The receptionist seeing that neither is taking the news very well speaks back up.

"Well there is another way." she says. Keitaro and Shinobu look back up at her. "If you could get a priest or some leader of a religious group to sign the marriage license, along with at least two witnesses, then we can officially record you as a married couple." she finishes. Both of them get a smile on their faces. "Really!?" says Keitaro nearly shouting.

"Yes sir…. however... it's already past 5:00 and most of the temples in the area have already shut down for the day so it still may not be possible to get married today anyway." says the receptionist a bit down herself. Shinobu once again looks really down. "Thank you ma'am! We'll be back as soon as we can. Let's go Shinobu!" says Keitaro with determination as he grabs her hand and starts heading to the door quickly. "Remember sir! City hall shuts down at 8:00 so you had better hurry!" calls out the receptionist. "Thank you!" shouts Keitaro back.

Keitaro snaps out of his flash back.

"Don't worry Shinobu. I know we'll find a temple that's still open!" says Keitaro with determination again. "But…. you heard what she said…. most of the temples are already closed." says Shinobu with a few tears running down her face. Keitaro places his hands on her shoulders, lowers himself to her level and looks her right in the face.

"Listen Shinobu. We didn't come this far only to be turned back by a minor set back. I know we'll find a temple or something still open that will help us! Just have faith that we will…. ok?" he says gently as he wipes away one of her tears. Shinobu looks back at him for a moment then nods her head. "Ok sempai. I will." Keitaro smiles, takes her hand and they both begin searching.

It's now going on 7:00. Keitaro and Shinobu have been looking for and open temple for more than an hour and a half, but to no avail. Every temple and shrine they come across has already shut down today. Things are looking pretty hopeless for the two. Shinobu has already given up hope on finding an open temple and Keitaro is even beginning to think so too.

Keitaro is beginning to lose hope that they'll ever find an open temple when he suddenly looks down an adjacent street and sees a sign in front of an odd looking building. "Baptist Church of Kyoto." he reads. "A Christian church?" he says to himself. He suddenly remembers something Seta had told him. Most Christian churches would stay open all night to help those who are in need. "This could work! Christianity IS a recognized religion here in Japan so this could work!" he says to himself. He grabs Shinobu's hand. "Come on Shinobu! I have an idea!"

Within minutes both of them have arrived at the front door of the church. Keitaro begins knocking on the door. "Hello! Is there anyone here!? We need some help please!... hello!" shouts Keitaro. Shinobu is looking slightly away while she has her left hand clutched to her chest while Keitaro continues to hold the other while knocking.

Suddenly a widow in on the apartment building next door opens up and a young man sticks his head out to see what all the noise is. "Hello there! Is there something I can help you with?" asks the young man. Keitaro looks over and sees the man in the window. "Um yes! We're looking for the priest for this church! We need his help!" shouts Keitaro.

"I'm the pastor! Hang on I'll be right down!" the man shouts back. He closes the window. Keitaro looks back at Shinobu and is happy to see her giving a cute grin. "Looks like we came to the right place." says Keitaro with a smile. Shinobu smiles and squeezes Keitaro's hand.

Within a minute or two the young pastor has made his way out to the young couple. "Hello there. I'm Rev. Hamada Kimachi. Is there something I can help you two with?" says the young pastor with a smile. "Hello sir. I'm Keitaro Urashima" "And I'm Shinobu Meahara." adds Shinobu. They both bow. "We were wondering if you'd be able to marry us tonight?" says Keitaro.

Pastor Hamada is a little taken back at Keitaro's sudden request. Keitaro seeing the pastor's face scratches the back of his head. "I guess we should explain a few things why first." he says sheepishly. Keitaro and Shinobu then go on to explain the situation to the young pastor. About Shin, Shinobu's arranged marriage to him, and a certain loop-hole Keitaro found in the marriage laws.

When the two finally finish Pastor Hamada nods his head as to understand. "I see. Well those are some interesting circumstances now aren't they?" he says in thought while rubbing his chin with his index finder. "So pastor. Will you help us?" asks Shinobu. "Well under normal circumstances I wouldn't. You'd be surprised at how many young couples such as yourselves tend to make this kind of a decision a little too quickly. However since you both have a very good underlying reason for doing this, I will help." answers the Pastor with a smile.

Shinobu smiles "Oh thank you!" she bows happily. "Thank you sir." says Keitaro. "No Problem. Just give me a few minutes to gather a few things and we'll do this." says Pastor Hamada. With that he heads back to his apartment to get the few "things."

Within about ten minutes the three of them have entered the church and are preparing for the small wedding. Shinobu has had a constant blush in her face ever since they entered the church. When they had entered and she had seen the inside of the beautiful little church it finally hit her that she's going to be married to Keitaro in just a little while. And the thought of that is the only thing that she can think of at the moment; she can't even seem to look him strait in the face now either.

"There all done. Ok we can now start the wedding." says the pastor with a smile. "Oh wait!" interrupts Keitaro. "We still need a couple of witnesses." he says. "Oh you're right." says Pastor Hamada. "Hang on. I'll be right back." says Keitaro. He then runs out of the church.

Keitaro looks back a forth up and down the street to see if he can see anyone. But given that this is a side street there aren't very many people out right now in this area. But then he finally spots an elderly couple walking down the street arm in arm. He quickly runs over to them. "Um excuse me, but I was wondering if you two would be able to help me?" says Keitaro politely.

"Sure young man. What do you need help with?" asks the elderly old man with a cheerful smile. "Um well you see…." starts Keitaro with a slight blush. "I uh…. need a couple of witnesses for my…. wedding. So um… could you help?" finishes Keitaro with a very obvious blush now on his face.

"A Wedding!? Ha ha ha! But of course! My wife and I are on vacation and we're just walking around enjoying the sights before we head on over to our hotel. Witnessing a small wedding would be a great way to end the day. Wouldn't it my dear?" says the old man cheerfully as he smiles to his wife. "Yes it would! We'd be happy to help!" says the elderly woman also with a smile. Keitaro quickly bows. "Oh thank you so much!" he says with great relief.

By now it's about 7:30. The elderly couple are sitting comfortably in a pew about three rows back, the pastor has his Bible and wedding rob on, and Keitaro and Shinobu are standing in front of him: Shinobu with a very obvious blush on her face, and Keitaro with a slight blush himself. With the elderly couple giving a grin at this youthful endeavor the pastor begins.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered…." "OH! Wait a second!" shouts Shinobu. Everyone watches Shinobu as she quickly goes over to the front pew and begins looking through her bunny backpack/purse. She finds what she is looking for and brings it out. To Keitaro's shock it's a wedding veil. "Shinobu… where did you get that from?" he asks curiously. "It's from my wedding dress that Mr. Hibachi bought. He let me borrow it thinking I was just going to show it off a little bit. I just thought that this wedding needed to be a little closer to the real thing." says Shinobu with a smile.

"Heh." huffs Keitaro with a grin. Shinobu puts it on and pulls the veil over her face. Keitaro is stunned for a moment. As he looks at Shinobu through the veil he swears he can see the face of a mature woman. It's only now that Keitaro notices that Shinobu has put on some lipstick, and she looks absolutely stunning. "Wow…" Keitaro says quietly to himself. He can't believe this is Shinobu at first. It takes a moment for Keitaro to come back to reality and tell the pastor he may proceed with a nod.

Pastor Hamada clears his throat. "Dearly beloved we are gathered here this morning… er…. tonight to join Keitaro Urashima and Shinobu Meahara in holy matrimony. If there is one among you who believe these two should not wed please speak up now or forever hold your peace?" he announces loudly.

For a brief second the thought of the worst case scenario flashes through Shinobu's mind. Her father, mother, and Shin would all run into the church with a bunch of hired goons and shout for them to stop and then she'd be drug away to marry Shin while she watched as Keitaro was beaten to within an inch of his life. But the thought quickly passes as she hears Pastor Hamada continue.

"Hearing none we will now continue." continues the pastor. Since this is a small wedding and knowing there really is no need for all the ceremonial traditions he decides to get to the point. "Do you have rings for each other?" he asks. "Oh no! We forgot the…" "Yes I have the rings right here." says Keitaro interrupting Shinobu. Shinobu looks and is shocked to see Keitaro pull out a ring box from his pocket. He opens it up and Shinobu gasps as she sees two weeding rings.

"Sempai when did you…?" "While you were still in the souvenir shop." says Keitaro with a smile interrupting Shinobu once again. Shinobu looks at the rings again. "Do you like them?" asks Keitaro. Shinobu give a big smile. "I love them!" she says happily.

Keitaro takes out Shinobu's ring and takes a hold of her left hand. "Shinobu. I'm not very sure of myself right now so I'm just going to say what's in my heart. (Keitaro takes in a deep breath) Shinobu since the very first time we met I could tell you were a special woman. I could tell there was a shell of sadness around you that you desperately wanted to break down. And ever since you moved in with us that shell is all but gone now. And ever since then we've gotten to know you better and I have seen many sides to your personality. I have sometimes seen you as a little sister such as when you needed help making tough decisions. You would always come to me or one of the older girls for advice. And also watching you strive to become more adult like makes you look so cute sometimes."

"At other times I see you like a mother. Always cooking and cleaning after everyone. I sometimes hate to see you having to pick up the pieces after one of Su's experiments, but you always did it with a smile. You would always seem to be watching over us in a way, making sure we didn't do too far with doing something, always being the voice of common since in a way. You would always put other before yourself. And I admire that."

"At other times I see you as a wife. Call it strange of me to say that, but you really will make a beautiful wife. You're there for me when ever I get hurt either physically or emotionally. You are there by my side cheering me on when ever I had an important exam, even if not in person but in spirit. And we would always seem to be on the same level when ever we talked to each other. We would always have something in common to talk about. And even though you are younger than I am and are a girl we are alike you and I. If I could I would fall in love with you at the drop of a hat."

"But most importantly I see you as a woman. Ever since we first met I could see you had the spirit of a woman inside of you. Unfortunately it had to struggle against a body and personality that was not ready to be a woman yet. But it is there. I see it in your face of determination when you lug a heavy load of laundry up to the roof, but even then you would sometimes need help carrying it up. I could see it in your face of happiness when you make the meals. You would have such the most beautiful look of peace on your face. I could see it in your face of thought when you were studying for an upcoming test. Seeing how hard you wanted to pass reminded me of myself when studying for a Toudai exam. And I could see it in your face of authority when ever you took charge of a situation. Seeing that you could lead people when the time came truly shows your abilities as a respectful and resilient woman. And even though your childish side would come out a lot it only was able to expose the woman inside of you further."

"It is these reasons why, Shinobu, that today I am happy and honored to take you as my wife. So I am so happy when I say this, 'with this ring I be wed.'" finishes Keitaro. With that he slips the wedding ring onto Shinobu's ring finger right up against the engagement ring.

Shinobu has tears streaming down her face. Tears of joyous happiness. Never had she thought that Keitaro would ever look upon her and see a woman. Those words have made her feel the greatest since of happiness she has ever felt. The warm feeling in her heart right now is the greatest feeling she has ever felt. Nothing can compare. She is truly and utterly happy.

Keitaro then takes out the second ring and hands it to her and gives her a big smile. He holds out his left hand to her. She hesitantly takes it still in a bit of fuzziness after hearing his speech. She tries to think of something to say back, but her mind just doesn't want to cooperate. But then without warning her mouth begins to move on it own.

"Oh Sempai… what you have just told me has made me feel so happy. More happy then I have ever felt. I love you so much. That first day I met you I sensed something special in you. I thought you were scary at first but that feeling changed when I realized that I had never felt this feeling in my heart before. And when you told me I could live in Hinata Sou and make friends with all of you I knew I had found someone which would fill the gaping hole created by my parents fighting and separation. And ever since I have gotten to know all of you better I have too seen many sides of you too."

"I have seen you like an older brother. Always looking after me and protecting me. I feel that you have always got my back if ever I was to fall into trouble. You're always there when ever I need help. Helping me with the laundry sometimes. Even helping in the kitchen sometimes. Given that you said you're a brother yourself you seem to know how to give advice in just the right way. And I appreciate all the help you've given me."

"I have also seen you as a father figure. You always try to do what's best for me. Helping me study hard, pushing me when I thought I couldn't do anymore. Gently pointing out mistakes I had done and correcting me. And not only in school work but in real life you have done that. Your guidance has helped me in many situations."

"I have seen you also as a husband. Not only in my daydreams but in reality as well. You've always been able to open your heart to me about how you feel. I too have been able to talk with you relatively openly about my problems which in many cases I would have kept it to myself. And although I first felt that we were so different, I have come to realizes that you and I are very much alike. Not having much luck with the opposite sex, being clumsy, and even saying sorry over and over again a lot. I find it very comforting."

"And I have also seen you as a man Keitaro. Despite what Motoko and Naru say a lot I can see that you are a man. Although your body does not fit the description of the world's view of a man, I know it takes a lot more than looks to be manly. You have a kind and caring heart. You are gentle and respectful. You are careful and considerate. But you also will stand up for what is right and are not afraid to take a beating for standing for your beliefs. You're smart and very perceptive. And in my eyes Keitaro that makes you the perfect man. I can see no manlier man that you."

"I can not describe just how happy I am right at this moment. Nor do I think I ever will be able to. I just wanted to let you know that I am so very happy. And right now nothing else matters. So I am also happy to say this. 'With this ring I be wed.'" finishes Shinobu. With that she slips the wedding ring onto Keitaro's finger.

Keitaro and Shinobu look into each other eyes with smiles on their faces. Pastor Hamada continues with ceremony. These rings represent the strong bond you have for each other and with this oath of devotion, will make you a complete unit."

"Keitaro Urashima. In the presents of God do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold from this day forward. To care for and encourage from this day. To love her and cherish her. Both in sickness and in health. For richer or poorer. So long as you both shall live?" Keitaro never looks away from Shinobu. "I do." he says with a soft voice and a smile.

Pastor Hamada turns to Shinobu. "Shinobu Meahara. In the presents of God do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold from this day forward. To care for and encourage from this day. To love him and cherish him. Both in sickness and in health. For richer or poorer. So long as you both shall live?" Shinobu never takes her eyes off of Keitaro. "I do!" she says happily with a couple of happy tears rolling down her cheek.

"With your oath to love each other from now on, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!" says Pastor Hamada happily. Keitaro, who had been removing the veil from Shinobu's face, suddenly freezes. He looks back at Shinobu and then gets a sheepish grin on his face. "Uh Shinobu…. we…don't have to kiss if you don't wa-MUPH!" Keitaro opens his eyes in shock as Shinobu has unexpectedly come up, wrapped her arms around his head and has planted a romantic kiss right on his lips.

And it's no ordinary kiss either. Her kiss lingers for a few second. "Is that her tongue!?" Keitaro shouts in his head. The elderly man suddenly stands up and takes a picture of the kiss. Keitaro remembers that he had handed over his camera to the old man to take a few pictures with. Shinobu finally backs away with a deep hue of red on her face, but surprisingly she does look away from Keitaro. Keitaro, with a deep blush himself, just has a look of shock on his face. He never thought Shinobu would so bold like that.

"I just…" Keitaro snaps back out of his stunned look. "I just wanted it to be special. That was my first kiss with a man so I just wanted it to be special and I will always remember it by." says Shinobu as she finally looks downward a bit. Keitaro places his hand on her cheek and she looks back up. Keitaro just gives a loving smile. She knows in that look he didn't mind and she smiles back.

"And with that I have the honor of being the first to introduce you too Mr. and Mrs. Urashima!" says Pastor Hamada. Pastor Hamada and the elderly couple begin to applaud the completed wedding and the newly wedded couple. Both Shinobu and Keitaro are now blushing even further in embarrassment.

"What a wonderful little wedding. I am so glad we were able you help you two out." says the old man with a cheerful smile as he and his wife sign the marriage license. "And I was honored to do it for you two." says Pastor Hamada as he also signs the license. "Thank you so much everyone! We really appreciate all the help you've given us." says Keitaro as he bows.

"Sempai what time is it?" asks Shinobu curiously. Keitaro looks at his watch and suddenly yells in shock! "AHHHH!!! IT'S 7:45! CITY HALL CLOSES IN 15 MINUTES!!!! AND IT'S AT LEAST HALF AN HOUR AWAY EVEN IF WE RUN!" he shouts! "WHAT!?" screams Shinobu. Pastor Hamada gives a smirk. "I think I can help you with this. You two go wait out front I'll be around in a minute." orders Pastor Hamada.

Keitaro and Shinobu head out the front of the church. "What do you think he has in mind?" asks Shinobu. "I don't know." answers Keitaro. Suddenly the two of them hear a loud engine coming from around the apartment building next door. The two look over and see a motorcycle pull up in front of the church with a side car attached to it. They watch as the man driving it looks at them and then pulls up his goggles.

"Pastor Hamada!?" says Keitaro with disbelief. "Heh heh! I'm known around here as the 'cycling pastor.' It helps with me with my witnessing. Now get in!" orders Pastor Hamada. Both of them are a little hesitant about getting in at first, but decide if they're going ever have a chance of making back in time they had better do as he says.

Thankfully the side car has two helmets which they both put on. Shinobu has to sit on Keitaro's lap because the sidecar doesn't have much room. Keitaro is a bit uncomfortable having her like this because he can feel the softness of her bottom rubbing a certain area of his lower region. Keitaro manages to shake it off and buckles them in.

"Ok you two hang on! I'll have you at City Hall in no time!" shouts Pastor Hamada. He reeves the engine a few times loudly before peeling out to Shinobu's frightful sounding… "YEEEAAHHHHhhhhhhhh!"

As the elderly couple watches as the motorcycle speeds off into the distance, the elderly man turns to his wife. "Shall we be going to our hotel now my dear?" he asks. "Yes. Lets." answers the elderly woman. With that the both of them walk down the street arm in arm to the intersection and manage to flag down a taxi.

Pastor Hadama's skilful driving manages to get the two back to City hall with barely 5 minutes to spare. Thankfully in one piece… although with a few frayed nerves. To the couple's surprise the middle aged receptionist had been waiting for them ever since they left, hoping that they would make it back in time. She felt a big since of relief when she saw the two had managed to get a pastor and a couple of witnesses to sign the license. She happily filled out the rest of the license and hands it back to them announcing they are now officially and legally a married couple.

After getting the license Keitaro and Shinobu say their goodbyes to Pastor Hamada and watches him as he speeds away on his motorcycle. "So Sempai…. What should we do now?" asks Shinobu. "I don't know about you, but all this excitement has exhausted me. I think we should find a hotel now." answers Keitaro. "You said it!" agrees Shinobu.

"The problem is I don't have a lot of money left." adds Keitaro. "Well what about that money Miss Haruka gave us?" asks Shinobu. "That could help… let's see…." says Keitaro as he looks through his travel bag. He finds the paper bag of money and reaches in to count it, but to his surprise he finds a note lying right on top. He pulls it out and he and Shinobu both begin reading it.

_To Keitaro and Shinobu,_

_This is my little wedding gift to you two. Knowing that Keitaro doesn't have much money, I have reserved a hotel room at the Kyoto Kokuai hotel for tonight. My treat. So please make good use if it. But remember it's only for tonight. Any room service you order or extra nights you stay you guys will have to pay for it. _

_Haruka_

Keitaro and Shinobu just stand there dumbfounded and shocked at what they just read. Suddenly they both shout together, "THE KYOTO KOKUAI HOTEL!?"

End of Chapter 10

To be continued in Chapter 11: The First Night Together. (Bit of a lemony warning for this one)

Author Note: I am so sorry for the 10 month hiatus on updating this story. But being a full time college student and having a part time job with leaving little time to sleep has left me with virtually no time to work on any of my fanfics. Until now. Christmas vacation and an easier college schedule for the spring semester will give me some time to work on my fanfics again. Next up is Chapter 7 of my Negima fanfic "Deadly Lessons." So please look forward to it!

Story Note: For the people who are Muslim, Jewish, or any other religion other than Christianity I hope you didn't find this chapter too offensive. Being the son of a pastor myself I found it easier to do a Christian like wedding for this chapter. Also some city halls in the major cities of Japan will stay open until 8:00. It's not uncommon.


	11. Story Discontinued

**STORY DISCONTINUED**

Due to noone helping me I have discontinued all my Love Hina and Negima stories, including this one. I hope you happy!


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